Wicked Witchcraft (A Stiles Stilinski Fanfiction)
by onelifetoliv
Summary: Having been exiled from her prestigious New York coven, brilliant June Child finds herself across the country in a town called Beacon Hills. But small towns have big secrets, and June finds herself thrust into a deadly world of werewolves, sacrifices, and new magic of the likes she's never seen. She only hopes she'll earn the trust of her new friends, including the sheriff's son...
1. Disclaimer

Hi! First time posting on FanFiction, here goes nothing!

Couple things here before we start the story

First off, **_TEEN WOLF, ITS CHARACTERS, AND ITS DIALOGUE ARE NOT MINE AND DO NOT BELONG TO ME IN ANY WAY_**

Second, **the gifs and pictures in this story are not mine, all credit goes to those who made the gifs and took the pictures.**

Thirdly, I got a lot of the ideas on magic from this group called the Witches of Grievance Ridge from Goodreads, so credit for them, I suppose.

 **BUT, the plot of June and Ginny and any characters that are not in Teen Wolf but in this story are mine.**

Lastly, I hope you enjoy reading this story. They say you need to write your own perfect story, so here is mine (probably not as perfect as I'd like it but hey). Please vote and comment, that would actually be so so cool. I love hearing ideas for writing!

Maddie Hasson as June Child

Jennifer Connelly as Ginny Child


	2. Wicked Witchcraft Playlist

**Don't feel obligated to go listen to these, but these are a mix of what I listen to while I write and what I feel like June listens to. Feel free to make music suggestions (they're my fave) that I can add on to this list!**

 ** _3A_**

Witchcraft - by Frank Sinatra (because it's where I got the title of the book, I kind of felt obligated)

Better Than Me - by The Brobecks

Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind) - by Panic! At the Disco

So Good - by HARBOUR

Free of Charge - by The Band CAMINO

Color Rush - by FARRO

Bare Hands - by Deal Casino

Pink Lemonade - by The Wombats

I Want What You Have - by Willamette Stone

Polarize - by Twenty One Pilots

Poison - by Jet Black Alley Cat

Breaking Up My Bones - by Vinyl Theatre

Worlds on Fire - by Zerbin

Pure - by Hey Violet

Tired of Talking - LEON

 ** _3B_**

Control - Halsey

Good Grief - Bastille

When Night Becomes Day - Finish Ticket

Something to Believe In - Young the Giant

Greek Tragedy - The Wombats

Mona Lisa - Vista Kicks

Emperor's New Clothes - Panic! At the Disco

Haunting - Halsey

Gun Song - The Lumineers

Drive - Oh Wonder

Scavenger - Finish Ticket

Livewire - Oh Wonder


	3. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: An Extra in "The Birds"**

I was sitting in the main office, waiting on some administrator to take me to class, when the principal's voice started getting louder and louder. I peered my head around the doorway as he was talking to a couple of people, his desk cluttered with a lot of papers, and a gleam of metal.

"Look, these are the applications for the career advisor, I need them sorted. And whatever happened to the library while I was gone, I want it cleared up. And what. The hell. Is _this?"_ It turns out that piece of metal was a full on sword, and my new principal lifted it up with utter confusion. My eyes widened in disbelief, and I could only wonder what kind of school I was being put in.

As I was staring at the sword, behind me I could hear the loud squeak of sneakers and a hurried voice saying, "Go. _Go._ " I quickly turned around to see who was speaking, but there was no one in the doorway. Before I could put too much thought into who might have maybe put a sword in an office, I was quickly saved by a British man in a blue shirt.

"Miss Child, I presume?" I nodded, a little too nervous to speak. Without missing a beat, the man gave me a formal and too-well-practiced smile, and handed me a sheet of paper.

"Right then. Here are your classes, several AP courses, just to give your mind that extra bit of exercise a day. Unfortunately we don't offer any courses that could really give you a proper challenge. If you don't mind me asking, how come you haven't skipped any grades or just gone off to college? Your academics show no reason for the best schools not to take you...?"

I offered a wan smile, "Socializing. Ginny and I agreed that social skills are kind of a lesson all their own. I don't think I could really handle being the runt of the litter if you know what I mean."

Just lies. It's nothing to do with other people, I just can't afford to stick out anymore than I already do. Well, according to Ginny, anyway.

He gave me a supposed sympathetic smile, "Right, and Ginny here is your legal guardian, after-"

"Could you actually show me to my first period? After that I can manage," I interrupted. The principal, not missing a beat, walked me down the hallway, and around a corner before stopping in front of my first new classroom. He peered in the open door, and saw students skirting around him filing into the almost full room.

"Well it looks as though our new English teacher isn't quite here yet, shall I wait with you, or...?"

I promptly shook my head no, "It's alright, I'm not one for huge introductions anyway." With that being said, I quickly tucked in to the new class and made my way to a seat next to the window, behind a pretty girl with an absolutely gorgeous headband made of her braided hair. I started rummaging through my things to try and get situated, but all the while I couldn't help but think of last night, and the talk I had with Ginny.

* * *

 _"Ginny, come on-"_

" _June, that's enough, you're going to school. I know you're too smart for it and I know it bores you, but you have to. It's required by law and it offers great protection for you. You know this, why do you have to fight me on this?"_

 _I huffed in irritation, "I just want to learn something that pertains to my situation, not the same math courses that I have known for years. Gin, there's gotta be something that I can do that doesn't involve high school!"_

 _She paused at the thought, "You know something, there is."_

 _I perked up immediately, "Really?"_

 _She nodded, "Yeah, get off your ass and help a girl unpack these. Jesus, June what's in all of these?" My shoulders slumped in resignation. I got off the couch that I had been perched on and followed Ginny out to the moving van, carefully picking up two boxes. Getting out of the van I noticed across the street a sheriff's car parked in another home's driveway, with the sheriff hopping out. Shrugging, I trudged back in to the house, and set down the boxes, Ginny mentioning that those were the last of them. I started grilling her again about not going to high school, as I thought there was no point. In the middle of what I thought was a compelling argument, Ginny gave me a stern glare and cut me off again._

" _June Child I've had it, I already enrolled you here and everything. You're going and that's final, do not make me ask them to breathe down your neck to be there, and don't put it past me either to do it. Besides, if you didn't go to high school, what would you even do?" I was quick to retort._

 _"Researching, obviously! C'mon, Gin, there's gotta be a reason why I-" Once again, I was interrupted._

 _"June, you know why we were cast out, okay? And it doesn't even matter how much research you do on this, there isn't anything we could find! No one knows the limit to your power, not even the High Priestess, and there is no recorded history on a situation like yours. Can't you just be content with the fact that the coven let us go without killing you?" As she was saying this, she was walking toward me. She put a hand on my face and added, "It's enough for me that you're alive and we're together. Beacon Hills is going to be good for us, a fresh start. You deserve it so please,_ please _, enjoy the normalcy that is high school, while we try to figure this out, okay?"_

* * *

Just as I got my pen and notebook out, my cellphone started to go off. In fact, so did everybody's in the classroom. I peered down at the message sent, and as I did, a woman started reading along out loud.

"' _The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.'_ This is the last line to the first book that we are going to read." She waved her phone up in the air. "It is also the last text you will receive in this class. Phones off, everyone."

It was weird how she got my phone number. Then again, it's on file, she probably only had to do a little digging for her dramatic entrance. Regardless, I put my phone away in my bag. Our new teacher, who had introduced herself as Miss Blake, started walking to the board. The girl in front of me turned around to face me.

"You wouldn't happen to have an extra pen, would you?"

"You mean aside from the two or three you have in your bag?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow. She looked slightly taken aback.

"What makes you think I have any in my bag?"

"Anybody who can make a headband out of their braided hair, and make it look that perfect too, clearly has their life put together enough that they wouldn't forget something as small as a pen."

"Is that the only reason you think I have my life together, is my hair?" The ginger asked me sarcastically. I smiled at the challenge.

"Well not only that but the notebook and two pens you already have out on your desk lined up perfectly were a dead giveaway. You're an avid note-taker, and that already makes your life more put together than most of the people in here. Including the teacher who dug through every student's file for their cell phone numbers just to make that semi-impressive entrance."

The girl looked slightly stunned, and then smiled. "Lydia Martin."

I smiled back, "June Child. So Lydia, what did you really want to ask me?"

"I wanted to ask you about your shoes."

Glancing down at the brown boots I was clad in, I answered, "Bergdorf's."

Her eyes widened, "Fifth Avenue?" I nodded, and I saw glee flicker in her eyes.

"So you're from New York, then?"

"Born and raised."

"Oh please, you say that like you're from Brooklyn or something. Don't be coy, where are you from?"

I smiled, liking this girl more and more. "Manhattan, more specifically the Upper East Side."

Lydia smiled broadly, delighted. "So you're a socialite, aren't you Miss Gossip Girl?"

I rolled my eyes in amused exasperation, "Sure." Normally I would have been more worried about where this conversation was going, but Lydia did not strike me as a shallow girl in any way.

"So then where did you go to school before you came here? And please tell me it was Constance Billiard."

I let out a small laugh, "The Spence School, actually."

Lydia gasped in recognition, "Like where Nancy Hopkins and Eleanor Campbell went to school?"

It was my turn to be surprised, "Er - yeah, actually. I'm impressed, most people tend to list off the Gwyneth Paltrow's and Kerry Washington's of Spence's alumni. Not the molecular biologists and physicians."

"She's not just some molecular biologist, I mean did you read Hopkins' work on retroviral insertional mutagenesis in zebrafish?"

"While I'm all about the world of academics, molecular biology is not really my forte. I did however read the report her and Marcella Bombardieri tag-teamed on to take down Lawrence Summers. It was a huge step forward in the discussion on gender discrimination. There's a signed copy of it in the library at Spence."

I looked briefly to the side to see the guy sitting next to Lydia give me an odd look. He was cute, I had to give him that. Short, brown hair, chocolate colored eyes, and moles splashed all across his pale face. Super adorable, but the way his nose curled up in suspicion got in the way.

Before Lydia could eagerly reply, the teacher called a boy named McCall out to the hallway. I figured that would be a good time to start writing down what was on the board. It would have gone smoothly had the boy who was previously staring at me not started whispering in a not-so-quiet way, trying to get Lydia's attention.

Gesturing down to her ankle he breathed, "What is that, is that from the accident?"

Turning back to her work, Lydia replied, "No, Prada bit me."

"Your dog?"

"No my designer handbag," I stifled a giggle, imagining she was rolling her eyes when she stated, "Yes my dog."

Seeing the wheels turning, I watched him ask, "Has it ever bitten you before?" Lydia paused for a moment before shaking her head silently. He leaned towards her a bit more, eager to share the theory he so clearly had in the works.

"Okay, what if it's like the same thing as the deer? You know, like how animals start acting weird right before an earthquake or something?" I started to slightly panic. Had animals been acting weird since I got to town? Or was something else entirely going on, that was unrelated to my magic?

"Meaning what? There's going to be an earthquake?" Lydia snapped.

"Or something. I just- maybe it means something's coming. Something bad." I'm surprised they didn't see my bewildered look at their conversation. What in the hell could these two possibly know?

"It was a deer and a dog. What's that thing you say about threes? Once, twice-"

 _Thump._

I snapped my head over to the window, where a large red splotch holding a few feathers was sat prominently on the otherwise clean window. Miss Blake set down her chalk to walk over and examine. Off in the not so far distance, hundreds of birds were seemingly flying straight for us. More and more hit the window, scaring off our English teacher to the middle of the room. The pounding grew increasingly louder until it was replaced with the sound of broken glass.

The next thing I know I'm down under my desk, fighting off bird after bird barreling into the classroom. I barely register the screams of my classmates over the screams of the birds in my ear. It's all I can do to keep my face covered when I think I hear Miss Blake yelling to get down. And then, silence.

My body like jelly, I slowly got up and leaned on the desk for support. Looking around, papers were everywhere, and so was blood. Littering the ground were crows, and my ears were ringing violently. I glanced around to make sure that everyone was okay, when my eyes landed on Lydia, and her strange friend. They looked frightened to say the least, but they also looked like they knew this was not in fact just a random occurrence. Which only begs the question: What else, if not me, is in this town and dangerous enough to make a murder of crows want to commit suicide?


	4. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Warm Introductions and Warmer Hands**

Birds, papers, and desks still littering the floor, everyone remained in the room. The police had shown up, and the sheriff who I had seen across the street last night came up to me to ask some questions. His badge was gleaming and his name tag read _Stilinski_.

"Are you alright?" Still a bit shocked, I merely nodded. He took this as a sign to continue, "Can you tell me your name for the record."

Letting out a shaky breath, I replied, "June Child." A flicker of recognition lit up in the Sheriff's eyes.

"Child, huh? Did you just move out here, June?" I glanced up at him, and nodded again. All while this conversation was happening, I felt a pair of eyes burning holes into my back. Three guesses who, really.

"Only reason I ask was because I think we're neighbors. I noticed the moving van last night, did you get settled in alright?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so. Just need to get familiar, I suppose. Does this kind of thing happen often in Beacon Hills?" I semi-joked. He let out a breathy laugh, but his eyes looked like he wanted to tell me _you have no idea_. Past the formalities of the conversation, he gestured behind me.

"Well I'll make sure that my son and I do our best to make you feel welcome here. Stiles-" he pulled his son around so he was in my view. Low and behold, it was the guy who was talking to Lydia about the bizarre animal occurrences here. And also the boy I'm pretty sure was staring at me intently this entire conversation. Stiles almost this fell over his feet being pulled by his dad.

"Stiles, this is June Child, she moved here just last night, so - uh, do your best to make her feel welcome. Don't be - don't be you." Stiles gave his dad an offended look. The sheriff turned to me and put his hand on my shoulder, "I'm glad you're alright, June, maybe you can come around for dinner sometime." I smiled in appreciation at him and turned back to his son as soon as he walked away.

"Your name is Stiles Stilinski?"

"You got here just last night?" We both said at the same time. He looked at me, all offended.

"No, it's just the name I go by, did you get here last night?"

"What's your real name?" I smirked at his lack of patience, and his eye twitched.

"Stiles. Did you get here last night," he asked again with no trace of politeness.

Still smiling, I remarked, "You just said that wasn't your real name," I was ignoring the question on purpose, and his reaction was becoming more and more hilarious. His mouth was set in a thin line, and his hands kept twitching.

"It's a name, and it's real, what more do you need to know?" Letting him win, I shrugged, inviting him to go on, "So last night? You moved from...?"

"New York, actually. Weren't you eavesdropping on Lydia and I's conversation earlier to get that part?"

He shifted, slightly uncomfortable, "If I'm honest I didn't really understand a majority of what you two were talking about."

Ignoring him, I sighed. "Gotta say, I was really betting on the fact that I was moving to a quiet town. Is this a normal deal for Beacon Hills?"

His eyes widened slightly and all too quickly he replied, "No! no, hardly ever, no weird happenstances... happening... over here..." he trailed off, scratching the side of his temple. What a terrible liar.

"Right but the deer? Didn't a deer do something weird just last night?" His gaze snapped over to mine in surprise. His eyes really were a nice color, like someone poured honey all over chocolate. Weird combination, but a delightful aesthetic regardless. His eyes narrowed in confusion and suspicion.

"Deer? How did you-"

"Well you just confirmed it, but in all honesty, if you don't want people eavesdropping on _your_ conversations, maybe you should try talking a bit quieter." I slid off of my desk and gathered my things as I saw that the police were letting us go. As I was about to brush past him I stopped, my head coming to about the top of his shoulder.

"Nice to meet you, Stiles."

I stalked out of the room to find my locker. My phone buzzed, and I saw that Ginny had texted me, telling me she was on the way to come and get me. When I did find my locker, I noticed that Lydia was closing her locker, and was talking to another girl from our class, with short brown hair and a pretty dress with boots. I was about to walk up to her, when another girl rammed past me in haste to get there first.

Putting things away in my locker and getting ready to go wait for Ginny, I looked over at Lydia and the two girls again, only to find that the girl who practically tackled me now had a vice grip on Lydia and her friend. Before I could go over and tell her to ease up on the physicality, she turned and left. I slowly made my way over to the two of them.

"Is that typically how people greet you, Lydia?" She glanced over at me, recognition lighting up her face. "Seriously, are you two okay?"

"She bruised me," Lydia exclaimed in disbelief. The brunette looked down at her forearm.

"Huh, me too. Sorry, I don't think I got your name, I'm Allison." She held out her hand to me. Gently, I grabbed it, telling her my name.

"June? That's such a pretty name!" Looking down she stated, "Whoa, your hand's really warm." I immediately rescinded my had from her grasp.

"Sorry, I have abnormally warm hands. Or so I'm told. But, uh, at least I don't need gloves in the winter." I internally cringed. It would have actually been easier to tell her that magic is in fact constantly at the tips of my fingers. Sorry excuses aside, Allison gave me a warm smile.

Lydia held her hand out to me and interrupted, "Hand me you're phone. We're not done talking about Hopkins, or the fact that your closet is probably the closest thing to 'off the runway' any of us will ever see." I laughed and quickly handed her my phone, and after entering her number, she handed it to Allison to do the same. Allison seemed slightly distracted, often glancing up to see if that girl would come back.

"Hey are you guys sure you're okay?" I asked them, and they both looked back to me.

"Yeah we're fine. In fact, that's my dad coming down the hall. Do you need a ride or anything?" Allison asked. I shook my head.

"No I'm fine, I've got a ride. It was nice to meet you guys." I felt my phone buzz, and knowing that was Ginny waiting outside for me, I gave the girls a mock salute and left the school. I found Ginny's car, and slid in. Getting settled, I looked over to her, and stopped. She had a suspicious look on her face.

"What?"

"Did you do that to just get out of school, June?" My jaw dropped.

" _What?_ No! Look, Gin, I may not know the extent of my abilities, but I'm about ninety nine percent sure that that wasn't me!" She gave me a skeptical look so I added, "Really! Scout's honor I didn't do it and if I did, it was unintentional. Besides, that is way too much effort to get out of school, I would have just tricked the teacher into believing I was sick, or something, or maybe-" I stopped at her pointed look.

"I didn't do it, Ginny. Rest assured I had every intention of staying in school like you wanted me to. But there is something off about this whole thing though. I overheard this boy talking about a deer doing the exact same thing last night too."

Ginny pulled out of the parking lot. "What are you saying, June? Animals killing themselves on purpose here?"

"I'm saying that one: you shouldn't be skeptical of anything, Ginny. I'm a witch, that's proof enough. Two: you might have moved us to a not-so-quiet town after all."


	5. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Reconsider Where you Bank, Allison**

That night was tense. I could see stress hanging over Ginny like a dark cloud, so to give her space, I told here I was going to go walk around the town and explore. She said when I was done to come back with dinner for the two of us. Quickly changing into more comfortable attire, I headed outside. It was five o'clock, so I figured I had about three or four hours to go before she called me in a state of worry.

Here's the thing: I love to explore. It gives me a great sense of calm to get lost in a new environment, and figure my way out of it. Like a puzzle, or a mystery. I knew there were two routes to consider in my exploration: the preserve, or the town. One had wild animals suspiciously killing themselves due to some unknown force at hand. The other had dinner in the foreseeable future. While I was dying to explore the non-boring side of this town, I also had no clue if I was causing animals to kill themselves because of my magic. Opting for the safer option, I started walking to the center of town.

Yes, I could have driven there I suppose, but walking gave me time to think. Of all the supernatural creatures who walked around New York City, I tried to identify which would make animals go crazy. It couldn't be fairies, those guys were the most benevolent creatures to walk the earth. Sirens? Last I checked, they couldn't really persuade animals to bend to their will, only people. I kept going through the list (it was a very long list, as it was New York City, after all) and none were adding up. Then I thought about werewolves, and I briefly stopped walking.

I'd only ever heard of werewolves. Leaders in my coven had come across them before, a pack that were on the run from hunters. I think the alpha then was named Satomi, and they were simply trying to go into hiding, where they could live in peace. My coven had granted them safe travels through New York and helped them settle further upstate. But that was just a story, I never actually met them.

Although, they did say that they knew werewolves were nearby because the pigeons in the area started acting crazier than usual. But not to the point of suicide. So, I was back to square one, because I had no clue what could be causing the wildlife to die, and in such masses.

I looked up at where my feet had lead me, and it seemed to be a more up-and-coming district of the town. I had stopped in front of the only building that wasn't in occupation, it looked like. I read the words under the logo on the chained up doors: _Beacon Hills National Bank_. Looking up at the opulent building, my head cocked to the side. It seemed like too nice of a building to be shut down. In the distance, I heard a car horn honk, and I figured I should head over to a more populated part of town.

Digging at my phone, I checked the time, it was already eight o'clock, and Ginny had texted twice.

 _Can you get us some Chinese? I'll pay you back._

 _You okay?_

I replied that I was fine, and briskly walked to the well lit part of the street. Retracing my steps, I went back into a more densely populated part of town, and wandered into the first Chinese restaurant I found. I ordered and paid, and waited for the food. When an employee was handing it to me, I figured I would ask about the bank.

"Hey, do you know why they closed Beacon Hills National Bank?" The guy raised an eyebrow at me, clearly not caring but didn't want to be rude to his customer.

"Uh, it was actually robbed a few years back, and eventually had to shut down. No one's stepped foot in there since."

* * *

I straightened out my jacket and looked in the mirror. Oddly, today had me more nervous than the first day of school. If it really was my magic doing all these weird things, I was going to need to work extra hard today to keep it under wraps. I sighed, content with my appearance, and I grabbed my backpack. Walking out of my room and down the stairs, I headed into the kitchen to find Ginny making breakfast, her back to me.

"Lunch is in the fridge," She spoke without turning around or missing a beat.

"I still don't know how you do that," I said, pulling my lunch out of the fridge. She finally did turn and handed me a cup of coffee and a plate.

"Call it my own magic." She said and winked at me, "But you also slightly drag your feet." I grinned as I sat down at the breakfast bar and began to eat.

"Do I need to tell you to watch your magic today, June?" She said as she loaded dishes into the sink.

I swallowed, "No, even though it wasn't me. I know how to lay low, Gin."

"Well until we know what it was for sure, I'm not taking any chances. We've got to be careful, you in particular."

"So you're saying we're going to poke around to see what it was..." I raised a knowing eyebrow.

"I'm saying I've already been doing that, June, and I'm having a bit of trouble. Just don't involve yourself here, okay? I'm sure it's nothing."

I got up, putting my already cleared plate in the sink with the other dishes. "Ginny, if you know me at all, then you know I thrive to get involved."

"I know it's futile, but June, please for the love of all things holy, be careful. We don't know what we're dealing with." I stared at her worried expression, before giving here a kiss on the cheek, bidding her goodbye and heading out to my car.

* * *

About to head to the library for a free period, I saw Allison and Lydia walk out of a classroom with a couple other people. One of them was Stiles, the other I had just learned was Scott, Allison's ex-boyfriend. The third, I didn't know at all. He was way too old to be a high school student, but way too young to be a teacher. I couldn't really ponder on it that long, when I saw the defeated look on Allison's face.

I walked over to her, "Hey! Are you okay?" I tilted my head when she only sighed.

"I'm fine, thanks. Were you headed to class?"

"Actually no, I have a free period. Wanna show me where the library is? Some asshole named Harris already gave me homework."

She laughed, "Yeah, that would be Harris. He's... something. Lydia and I both have a free period too, we can all go to the library."

When we found a table at the library, we all pulled out our stuff and set to work. Although Allison seemed to favor doodling over actually studying. Actually, I think I was the only person at the table actually doing homework. Lydia preferred to look over at the two twins who had just walked by.

"I want one," She said distantly. Allison looked up and followed our gaze over to the boys. She turned around and had a giddy smile on her face, "Which one?"

"The straight one, obviously," Looking again, we saw Danny (a nice boy I had met in my anatomy class) bump into someone else after staring too long at them. Based on body language and facial expressions alone, Danny too, wanted one of the twins. I then saw Lydia get up with swift elegance to go flirt with the twin. Smiling to myself, I looked down at my work, but not before catching Allison's doodle in the corner of my eye.

"If you're looking for financial advice, Allison, I'd recommend you go somewhere else." I said, looking to get back to my anatomy homework.

"What are you talking about?" Confused, I looked up at her, to see her face looked just like mine.

"That logo you're drawing? Beacon Hills National Bank? It's shut down, got robbed a few years ago I heard."

A million thoughts raced across her eyes all at once. She typed something on her computer, and stared at it a bit, revelation eating up her features. She looked back up at me.

"Do you know how to get there?"

* * *

The next evening, Allison had me in her car and we were stopped at the abandoned bank once again.

"Okay, am I missing something here?" I asked here with scrunched eyebrows. She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door. She then turned to look at me.

"No don't worry about it. Listen I'll be back in a few minutes okay? Just stay in the car." With that, she got out and rounded the car to her trunk. She pulled out something that looked suspiciously like bolt cutters, and walked up to the front doors. She then cut the chains, and slipped inside.

Great, I just befriended a delinquent. Ginny's gonna love this. I reached for my seatbelt to go follow her to tell her we should go back when it hit me.

She might know something about whatever's going on. If she's as good of friends with Lydia and Stiles, who's to say she's not in on what happens in this town?

With that thought, my seatbelt was unbuckled and my door was propped open when I stopped, thinking of Ginny.

 _Don't get involved._

I didn't want to _not_ involve myself, but I also couldn't help but think of Ginny, and how stressed she was, and how she kept campaigning for me to have a normal life. I had the feeling that if I were to get out of the car, I would not have a normal life here. I sighed and shut my door. About two minutes passed where all I did was stare straight out the windshield. Looking out ahead, I saw Scott McCall in the distance with what looked to be that same older guy who was at our school yesterday. Did Allison know that these two were here, potentially stalking her? I could just go inside, and-

 _Don't get involved._

 _Don't get involved._

 _Don't get-_

"Fuck it." I muttered, and quietly got out of the car. I stealthily made my way (unnecessarily summersaulted like a spy) to the front entrance of the bank, and slipped inside. Letting my eyes adjust to the darkness, I heard Allison not much farther ahead. I quietly made my way over to her, and reached out to grab her arm. She gasped and whirled around.

" _June?_ What happened, I thought I told you to stay in the car!" I gave a sheepish smile.

"You know me, I'm a great listener! Actually, you don't know me, we only just met like two days ago so..."

She quirked an eyebrow, "Seriously what are you doing here? You should be outside."

"I know that, but I needed to tell you-" Someone came out of the shadows, and Allison immediately lunged towards them. Despite the attempts of Allison's surprisingly advanced combat skills, the attacker still had the upper hand, and pushed her against the wall. I was about to use my magic when suddenly Allison exclaimed, "Ms. Morrell?!"

Ms Morrell looked at her then back at me, "Keep your mouths shut and listen close: You have no idea what you just stepped in to. Right now you've got maybe twenty seconds to get your asses hidden."

"What are you doing?" I stammered.

"Both of you, get in that storage closet over there and _lock the door._ When you hear the fighting start, that's when you come out."

"What fighting?" Allison asked, panicked.

"You'll hear it, now _go!_ " With no time to waste, Allison grabbed my hand and pulled me into said storage closet. I locked it behind us and immediately rounded on Allison.

"What the hell is this? What's going on?"

"I don't know, but you need to be quiet. See if there's a light switch." I found one and flickered it several times.

"It's not working! Allison, what now?" I was panicked. I knew I could ultimately get us out of this situation if it really came down to it, but a part of me almost wanted to stick around. Being the nosy person I was meant wanting answers, and I had a feeling in my gut that I was going to get some in the very foreseeable future.

Before I could ask Allison again what to do, she froze. Unmoving, I listened to the sound of footfall right outside the door. There was a distinct tapping sound, and another sound like something continually swiping along the floor. Like a cane. Frozen, I could only stare at Allison, and hold my breath.

She was quickly moving around, silently working. While she did so, I could only help but notice that while the footsteps grew quieter, it still felt like someone was right outside the door. For some reason, Allison knocked down a bottle of ammonia, and let it spill over the floor. The scent was so strong, it made my eyes burn, and Allison threw her coat down on the doorway to not let any of the liquid out.

When I heard footsteps walk away for the second time, I looked over at Allison, "What do we do now?" I asked in a hushed whisper.

"It's like Morrell said, we have to wait for the fighting to start, then we run for it." She started shining her phone around, to become acquainted with her surroundings. Unfortunately, those surroundings included the body of a girl, blonde hair shielding her decayed face.

My hand flew to my mouth. I had never actually seen a dead body before in my life. Despite many stereotypes, witches were not killers by nature, and didn't require anything such as taking the life of another. I immediately itched to call the police, or call Ginny, god call _anyone_ to come get me out of this situation.

Shakily, I looked over to Allison, who had recognition all over her face.

"W-wait a second, y-you _know_ this girl?" I stammered. She nodded slowly.

"Erica. She's been missing for the past couple of weeks." I ran a clammy hand through my hair.

"It's not a coincidence that her body was dumped here, okay? The killer could be coming back, we don't know for sure! We need to get out of here!"

"No shit, June!" She had pressed her ear against the door, waiting for the fight to start like Morrell said it would. It was then that I remembered why I came in to find Allison in the first place.

"Wait, Allison-"

"Shh!"

"No, Allison you've gotta listen to me! The reason I came in here - I was in the car like you asked. Then I saw Scott, and this other guy, who's older than us, I think you know him-"

"Derek?"

"Sure. Anyways, I saw them come in here shortly after you did. What if - what if they don't know what's going on either? We might need to warn-" I was cut off again by a tremendous roar, and the sound of scuffling.

"That's our cue - Allison. Allison, _wait!_ " But she was already running past me out the door, and towards the fighting. I ran after her, and as we got closer to a large vault, I could hear yelling.

"Like I have a clue, I thought she was dead!"

"Look out!" Allison yelled at the vault opening. When I ran up next to her, my eyes were not expecting to see what they did.

Behind a line of what I could safely assume was mountain ash, were Scott and Derek pressed up against the wall, facing off against two werewolves.

 _Werewolves._

So I guess my thoughts on werewolves were proven correct. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Ginny wouldn't think to research werewolves because most of the books we own in our collection are on magic. This wasn't really the best time to be drawing any conclusions, though. Derek began wrestling the girl werewolf while Allison was gazing over to Scott. Following her gaze, I could see Scott was suspended against the wall by the other werewolf's claws piercing his abdomen, slowly killing him.

Allison crouched down to the line of mountain ash in the entrance. Noticing this, Derek yelled, "No! Don't break the seal!"

Ignoring him entirely, Allison yelled out, "BOYD!"

Fucking wait, she knew this guy too?

She broke the seal, and gained the attention of both the feral werewolves, who were now headed towards us two. Yanking Allison back by the arm, I shoved her behind me. The two werewolves started advancing towards us, when all of the sudden, they lunged.

On instinct, I blocked them with a magical shield. They rammed into it, lighting up the room with a purplish glow. Undeterred, they got right back up and snarled in my face. Before they could act any further, I sent them flying backwards. I cringed when I heard them fall into debris, I didn't want to inflict any injury on these two people trapped in a beast's body. They took no time to get back on their feet and they quickly left the building, leaving just the four of us behind.

Effectively cooling down, I turned around to have three sets of eyes all on me, shocked, and waiting for an explanation.

Without missing a beat, I remarked, "Well Allison, I told you to reconsider where the fuck you bank."


	6. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: 3rd Dead Body of the Evening**

No one said anything for a solid ten seconds. Still looking at Allison, I looked to cut the silence short.

"How many werewolves are in Beacon Hills?"

Eyeing me warily, Scott said, "Uh - a few, actually."

"A few... as in like you two, and the two we just released from here? Or..."

"A few others. And an alpha pack." Derek said, unsure.

Alpha pack, that _would_ explain-

"The animals," I said under my breath.

"What?"

I looked up at Scott, "That's why the animals killed themselves? Was the alpha pack?"

He nodded, and I visibly relaxed, feeling suddenly excited. Scott looked at me, confused.

"Well thank God! I thought it was me!" I said a little breathlessly.

"You thought _you_ were making animals commit suicide?" He questioned.

"Scott, you literally just saw me magically create a barrier between myself and two werewolves, then proceed to send them flying across the room. You think I wasn't a little curious?"

"About that, what are you?"

"She's a witch, Scott." Derek spoke up. All eyes went to him. He was eyeing me still, when he said, "I've never seen a witch before."

"And I've never seen a werewolf before, so call us even." I strode over to him, ignoring the slight flinch of his stature, and held out my hand which was still trembling from all the previous events.

"Hi, I'm June Child, your new friendly neighborhood witch. Sorry I can't stop shaking, I just saw a dead body a few minutes ago. You must be Derek."

It seemed that me mentioning a dead body jarred Derek back to the situation that just occurred. "Cora," he muttered, and angrily advanced towards Allison.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Scott yelled as Derek grabbed her arm.

"WHAT WERE YOU _THINKING?!"_ But Allison wrenched out of his grasp.

"That I had to do _something_."

"She saved our lives," Scott defended. Derek snapped his head over to where Scott was.

"Yeah, and what do you think they're going to do out there?"

"Find woodland creatures to befriend?" I said, hoping to diffuse the sudden anger of the situation.

"Do you have any idea what you just set free?" Derek said, completely ignoring me.

"You wanna blame me?" Allison raised her voice, "Well I am not the ones turning teenagers into killers."

"No, that's just the _rest_ of your family." I suddenly feel like I was dropped in the middle of an unresolved conflict. Like when a new character cast in a television show already on its third season. Just interrupts everyone and the personal moments they share.

"I've made mistakes. Gerard is _not_ my fault."

"And what about your mother?" Silence. I immediately felt like this conversation was intensely private, and I shouldn't be here to listen in.

"What do you mean?" Derek looks to Scott, who was looking down.

"Tell her Scott." He let that settle before walking along and pulling me by the arm. "You, come with me, show me where the body is."

I was eager to get away from this tension between the two ex-lovers but no so much to go find a dead body again. I hesitantly lead Derek to the storage closet I had just run out of.

"So, a witch, are there more of _you_ in Beacon Hills?"

"None that I could tell you about." I walked next to him.

"So you're not with a coven, then? Why are you here?" I flinched when he mentioned coven.

Trying to come off as casual, I answered truthfully, "I sort of got cast out of my coven. As to why I'm here in Beacon Hills, I'm not too sure. My Guardian moved me out here from New York."

"How do you sort of get cast out of a coven?"

"Easy, you be me. This is where the body was." We stopped in front of the closet. Derek's face went from questioning to heartbroken to stoic in a matter of two seconds. He opened the door and went inside, and scooped up Erica. He kept his composure, trying not to cry.

"We should get back to the others." Nodding silently, I lead the way once again. In part because I didn't want to see the body again, but also to let Derek have his few moments of grievance. We walked back up to Scott and Allison, who looked like they had broken up all over again.

"June I'm so sorry, I - I need to-" Allison was desperately looking around, trying to get away from this place, away from Scott.

"Hey, it's fine, I'll see you at school, okay?" She gave me a small, thankful smile before turning and leaving. Scott looked like he wanted to say something as she left, but thought better of it. I felt bad for the poor guy, he couldn't catch a break in his love life it seemed.

"We still need to go after them," Derek told Scott.

"How do you figure we do that?" I asked. The two looked at me.

"You've done enough tonight, go home." I looked disbelievingly at him. I was finally in the middle of all the action and they wanted to kick me out? Scoffing, I crossed my arms.

"While I would love to go home and revel in the fact that I am not the sole person involved in the supernatural on the west coast, my ride literally just left. Besides, I can help."

"You'll slow us down," Derek said bluntly.

My mouth fell open. About to retort, Scott cut me off.

"I'll call Stiles, that way we can get her home and fill him in at the same time."

* * *

"A witch?" Stiles peered over at me, while Scott looked too. Derek had left to properly take care of Erica.

"Bona fide." I shrugged. He still looked suspicious.

"Prove it then," He stated.

"Why? Your friend's a werewolf, isn't that proof enough that other elements of the supernatural exist?"

"I'm more of a see and then believe kind of person so if you could kindly-" Frustrated and not even letting him finish, I telepathically lifted him in the air by his legs. His phone fell out of his pockets and clattered to the floor. With him still struggling mid-air, I went and grabbed his phone up off the ground.

Unlocking it, I smiled at his wallpaper, "I took you for a Padme guy than a Princess Leia one to be honest." He stopped struggling at that, giving me an offended look. My grin got bigger, and I set him on his feet. Slightly dizzy, he tried to play off what just happened as no big deal, leaning on Scott for support and snatching up his phone. Scott was trying to hide a smile, and failing miserably. Stiles glared at him and then at me.

"Proof enough?" I asked him sarcastically.

"Listen, I need to meet up with Derek, stay clear of the preserve. Are you two going to be okay?" I gave him a thumbs up, and Stiles was looking like he was sitting down for a date with Mr. Harris.

"Okay, you have my number, text me if you need something. And thanks again. Are you going to play nice?"

"I take a bit of offense there, Scott."

"I wasn't asking you, June." Stiles whirled around to Scott, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Are you serious - Scott, I-" Scott's phone dinged.

"That's Derek, gotta run. I'll text you later."

We walked out to Stiles' car, a pastel blue Jeep that looked well loved.

"Nice car," I noted, hopping in the front seat.

"Is that a pass at my jeep?" He accused. Wide eyed, I looked at him in earnest. _Was every move I made one of suspicion to him?_

"No, I'm serious, it looks like it's loved. Reliable." He looked over my face, waiting for some lie to surface. His gaze made me uncomfortable, he had only every looked at me in a scrutinizing manner. Like everything I was screamed suspect in a crime I didn't know I had committed. I guess that makes sense though, he is the sheriff's son.

It was just hard, feeling like I wasn't accepted. I lived my entire life around my friends and fellow witches of my coven (ex-coven I should say), only to be cast out. They just had no trouble throwing me under the bus due to fear and suspicion. I think that's what hurts the most, was knowing my friends, my _family_ felt that way, like I was never their friend after all.

I didn't want enemies, I wanted acceptance. And Stiles Stilinski was giving me nothing of the sort.

Clearing my throat, I asked, "So what's next?"

"You're going home."

"And you?"

"Well in case you didn't notice, I'm perfectly human," I had noticed, and I was almost envious of the fact. "I can't fight werewolves who haven't felt a full moon in months, or any werewolf in general."

"I doubt that. How did you involve yourself with werewolves anyway? If you're as human and defenseless as you say, shouldn't you be steering clear of them?"

He gave me a small side smile, gaze not leaving the road he was driving on, "It's a long story, but Scott was bitten by Derek's uncle Peter, who killed a string of people, including Allison's aunt Kate."

"So Allison is involved in this too, somehow?"

"Yeah her family, the Argent's, are hunters. Or were. After her mother died and her grandfather brainwashed her, Allison and her dad decided to take a few steps back from all of this."

"Lucky." Stiles looked over at me.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"If I could take a breather from this world then I would in a heartbeat."

"What's your story anyway?" Stiles asked, his suspicion being clouded by curiosity.

Looking out the window of the jeep, I said, "It's a little textbook, but I'm a witch. Obviously. Spent my whole life with this coven back in New York City when two months ago, they cast me out. They were merciful enough to let me leave the coven alive, so my Guardian, Ginny shipped me out here." Smiling to myself at how Ginny was constantly telling me this was a chance at normality. "She wanted to go some place far away, and quiet."

Stiles smirked, "Yeah, you won't get quiet here in Beacon Hills."

His smile dropped off his face, and suspicion replaced it in an instant. "Did you say you were cast out of your coven?" I slowly nodded. "How?"

Looking down at my hands, I started fiddling with my fingers in my lap. "I'm not entirely sure," I answered quietly.

"Wait, how do you not know why you were cast out? Shouldn't you be like the first person-" His interrogation was cut off by his cell phone ringing. Digging it out of his pocket, he read who it was.

"Lydia?" I sat up straighter, "Slow down - what - are you okay? Lydia - where? Yeah - I'll be there in five." Stiles hung up the phone, and swerved the car into a different lane.

"Is Lydia alright?" I asked him, jostling around at his sporadic driving.

"Remember how I told you about Peter killing a bunch of people?" I nodded. "He bit Lydia too, and left her for dead."

"So Lydia's a werewolf too?" I was surprised, but I also partly wondered if her werewolf fur matched her strawberry blonde hair. Huh, a ginger werewolf, that'd be a sight to see.

"No, she's not a werewolf."

"But she was bit by an alpha-"

"Yes but she's not a werewolf."

"Okay, then what is she?" Stiles's grip on the steering wheel got fractionally tighter.

"We don't know, all we know is that Lydia has a knack for doing weird things."

"Well, what's the case here?" He looked a little hesitant to tell me. "Stiles. What happened?"

"She found a dead body."

I could actually feel the color leave my face.

* * *

"Yep that is a freshly dead human." My gaze was on the boy sitting in the lifeguard's chair, throat cut open, and blood spilling down his front, onto the pavement. Oddly, the purity ring on his blood-covered hand was left eerily spotless.

"Who knew a person could bleed so much," I muttered, unheard to the two behind me. They were trying to have a hushed conversation, but again I could hear every word.

"A _witch_?"

"Yes, she's really a witch, and don't ask her to prove it to you, it doesn't end well."

"How did she end up here?"

"Well Lydia, she told me she up and left New York on her broom and flew all the way here. _I have no clue!_ She said she was cast out of her coven, and came to Beacon Hills."

"Cast out? How?"

"I don't know that either, she didn't exactly give me a clear answer." Stiles began digging his phone out, calling Scott. When he answered he filled him in on what apparently was an unfortunate mauling done by two vicious werewolves.

"Yep, throat ripped out, blood everywhere. It's like the freaking _Shining_ over here." He was gesturing wildly. "If two little twin girls come out of the woods and start asking me to play with them forever and ever, I'm not gonna be surprised." I turned around to the two of them, still slightly in shock. That was the second dead body I've ever seen and it happened in about the span of two hours. This was just getting stranger and stranger.

I walked over to Lydia, who was still stiff, and had folded her body into herself as much as she could. I rubbed her arm in an attempt to be soothing. She looked at me with a small smile, and appreciation in her eyes.

"So did you even go to Spence School or did you actually attend Hogwarts before coming here?" She semi-joked. I smiled at her attempt given the situation.

"Don't be _ridikkulus_ Lydia. Hogwarts doesn't exist."

"I'm ignoring that awful pun."

"What? C'mon, on a scale of one to ten, that pun was a solid 9 and 3/4." Lydia stared blankly.

"All jokes aside, I'm not from Hogwarts. But I am kind of like Hermione Granger, but you knew that."

"Did I?"

"Well, Lydia Martin, it takes a genius to know a genius." She nudged my arm.

In the time that we had been talking, Stiles had gone closer to the body. He was gazing at him with such scrutiny, looking to make sure that a werewolf was indeed the cause of death. His stare stopped short when he noticed the ring.

"A purity ring." I said, and Stiles turned to me.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I dunno. It just, it wasn't covered in blood. Like people were meant to read it."

Flicking on her light, Lydia walked across her room and sat down on her bed. "You didn't have to follow me home."

"I just, wanted to make sure you got in okay," Stiles stated.

"I had a police escort," Lydia mentioned.

"I know the inner workings of that force. Alright, they're not nearly as reliable as people think," Probably not with things like werewolves running around at night.

"Well you also didn't have to follow me into my room...?" She argued.

"Well, I didn't-" Stiles stopped and cocked his head, "Yeah I - I don't have an answer for that. We can leave," he said, heading for the door.

"Are you guys really going to go without asking me the question you've been dying to ask me?" She asked frankly.

Stiles looked for a way out, "I'm not - I haven't been dying to ask you anything. No questions here, just Stiles, nothing."

Lydia sighed in frustration, "I can see it on your face."

Stiles, caught, looked for an excuse, "May-maybe my face just has like a natural interrogatory expression." Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Stiles, your 'interrogatory expression' is getting on her nerves, and quite frankly, mine as well," I said from my spot in the doorway. Stiles turned to glare at me.

"The answer is I have no clue how I ended up finding that body. I didn't even know where I was until I got out of the car." Lydia said, slightly defeated.

"Okay but the last time something like this happened-"

"I know. Derek's uncle." She whispered, terrified.

"Peter."

I moved from the doorframe and grabbed Stiles by the arm, "Alright, that's enough trauma for you tonight, Lydia. See you tomorrow." She smiled gratefully at me, and I gave her a reassuring stare in return.

Stiles and I were walking down the stairs when his phone buzzed again that night. He stopped and looked up at me.

"What?"

"Do you mind if we make one more stop tonight?"

* * *

Stiles briskly walked through the doors of Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital and right up to a beautiful dark haired woman. She stopped to greet him but her eyes landed on me.

"Stiles."

"Yeah."

"Are you going to introduce me here?" It's like he totally forgot I was with him, because he seemed surprised to have to introduce me.

"Oh, this is June." The nurse stared at him, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, she put a hand on her hip.

"That doesn't explain why she's here with you, Stiles."

"Oh, well she's a witch, and she helped save Scott and Derek from two ravenous werewolves. She also lifted me up by the ankles magically."

The woman, registering this, looked over at me with her eyebrows raised. "A witch?" she asked. I nodded. Shrugging, she reached out her hand for me to shake.

"Melissa McCall, Scott's mom. Thanks for saving him. You have really warm hands," She mentioned.

"Yeah, there's - uh - there's magic running through my hands all the time, so."

She slowly nodded, "Uh-huh."

"Scott's mom? Just how many people know about what's going on?"

Stiles cut in on our introduction, "Basically everybody but my dad. So, Melissa, the text?"

"Over here," Melissa guided us and warned, "And if you tell anyone I showed you this, I swear to God I will kill you painfully and slowly." _So much for warm introductions,_ I thought as she steered us to the morgue.

"Why do you want to show me a body I've already seen?"

"Because you haven't seen everything."

And with that, we walked in to the morgue, where several bodies were on the table, only one uncovered by a sheet. It was the same body as before, just no blood. In the time it took for Stiles and I to gather near the John Doe, Melissa had already strapped on some gloves and was pointing above the slash mark.

"See this around his neck? That's a ligature mark, that means that he was strangled with something like cord or rope..."

"Okay wait, a second," I said, "What kind of werewolf strangles someone? I mean it's not very - werewolf-y."

Melissa nodded, "My thoughts exactly. And then there's this." We were stood on either side of the body as Melissa went behind his head. She tilted it to the side, to show a ghastly hole right behind his ear.

"Oh, whoa - oh my god man what is that, is that brain matter?" He ventured a small peek. "Yeah it's brain matter. Of course."

"Wicked," I muttered. Stiles looked at me disbelievingly.

"See the indentation?" Melissa said. "He was hit in the back of the head. Hard enough to kill him. In fact, any one of these things could have killed him. I mean, someone seriously wanted this poor kid dead."

A head bashing, a throat slashing, and a strangling all at once? It sounded too human.

"Alright so this couldn't've been Boyd or Cora, you know? They wouldn't have done all that."

"They would have slashed the flesh right off the bones of this guy. This couldn't have been werewolf." I said.

"So maybe this is just one murder?" Stiles spitballed, "I mean maybe it's just - just a random coincidence?" He sounded a little too hopeful for his own good.

"I don't think it was just one," Melissa said sadly.

"How come?"

"Because that girl over there," she nodded to another slab with a body covered, "She's got the exact same injuries."

We all rounded over to her. Stiles looking the most hesitant. Without further ado, Melissa lifted up the sheet to reveal a different blonde girl from Erica, and showing me the third dead body that I have ever seen. And in three hours, that had to be a record.

"The M.E said this one wasn't just strangled. Whoever did it used a garrote, which is a stick that you put through the rope and just kind of keep twisting..." She had trailed off, and when I looked up I saw why.

Recognition was on every surface of Stiles' face. Tears were pooling in his eyes, and in that moment, I couldn't help but feel so incredibly sorry for him.

"Stiles?" Melissa asked. "Oh my god did you _know her_?" Stiles gave the smallest nod. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even think." She was quick to cover up the girl before us.

I walked over to Stiles' other side when he spoke quietly, "I was - I was at her party. It was her birthday. Her name was Heather." He wiped his eyes in the crook of her elbow. I grabbed his hand.

One of my more recent party tricks was the ability to empathize with others physically. It came in handy when Ginny was stressed out or sad, I could always calm her with touch. She said it was one of her favorite abilities.

When I touched Stiles' hand, he looked at me, then began to stare at me strangely, as the magic took effect.

"How-?"

I smiled sadly. "Magic."

"I hate to interrupt, but we need to call your father, cause you're a witness."

In that minute of calm, something seemed to click for him, and he started looking around frantically. He was in such deep thought that Melissa couldn't seem to break his train of thought.

"Stiles," I called a bit louder. He snapped out of his reverie, and shakily turned to Melissa.

"Has anyone else been through here tonight? Any other bodies - or - or even anybody missing?"

Wide eyed, Melissa shook her head, racking her brain for anything fitting the description. "Uh - no. No bodies, but - um-"

"What?" I asked.

"Two girls? They brought the first one, Caitlin in for a tox screen. And then I overheard her that her girlfriend, Emily, just disappeared. I-I mean they were out in the woods, and-"

"Nobody's found her yet?" Stiles inquired, though I got the feeling he already knew the answer.

"I don't know."

"Okay, the first one-"

"Caitlin."

"Um is she here? Is she here right now?"

"I think so."

"Okay, where?" He started heading for the doors, dropping my hand. Melissa put her arms up to stop him from going any further.

"Okay, okay, wait. Just wait a minute."

"I have to talk to her."

"What's this about, Stiles? Why do you need to talk to her so bad?" I asked.

"Because I think I might know what's happening."

With that, Melissa lead us to the girl's room. Quietly explaining that Stiles and I were just here to talk to her about what happened.

"We weren't doing anything that bad! You know - I've camped out there plenty of times."

"Right but why tonight?" I could only think that Stiles knew what she was going to say, that he was just pushing her to the confirmation he needed to hear. It was brilliant how it worked, actually.

"We wanted to be alone for one night. Emily lives with her mom, and I have three roommates. It's not exactly romantic settings."

"How long have you two been together?" Stiles asked gently.

"Three months."

"You wanted to make it romantic...?" Caitlin smiled softly.

"Yeah - you know, because - because..."

"Because it was her first time." He finished, and it clicked for me. The purity ring, and this girl's first time. I'm betting anything that somehow Stiles had found out his friend Heather was a virgin. Combine that with the way Heather and the John Doe were killed... Oh no.

"They're gonna find her, right? Aren't they?"

"They're going to try their hardest," I added, touching her arm to soothe her a bit.

* * *

I told Ginny I would be home in a bit, and that I had spent the night at Allison's after we got to studying. She seemed happy that I was doing something so normal, and I felt bad that soon I would need to burst her bubble. She had a right to know what was going on, even if it meant dragging her farther away than what she had tried to get us to in this new town.

I was currently waiting with Stiles for Scott, the sun having risen and Cora and Boyd having been returned to human. When Scott arrived, we all walked in to the morgue together to reveal to Scott the working theory we had. Which involved showing him Heather. For Stiles' sake, I lifted the sheet and began explaining to him the injuries in which his mother had shown us hours before. When finished, I lifted the sheet back over Heather.

"So Boyd and Cora might not have killed anybody?" Scott asked.

"You're going to wish they did," I said, and Scott looked over confused.

"Why?"

"Well we're not exactly sure yet. The other girl who's out in the woods, Emily? Eventually they're going to find her. She's one of them." Stiles explained. "Emily, Heather, the guy Lydia found at the pool. All three were virgins. And they're all going to have the same three injuries: strangled, throat slashed, head bashed in. It's called a Three Fold Death."

Scott was catching on, eyes fluttering in disbelief. "So if these aren't random killings, then what are they?"

Stiles looked up to Scott, almost defeated entirely.

"Sacrifices. Human sacrifices."

"Thanks for the ride, Stiles."

"Don't mention it."

"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry about Heather," Stiles looked down to his lap.

I kept talking, stupidly, "Look I know that pity is the last thing you want, but I know what it's like to lose somebody, so if you ever just want to talk-"

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass." He started up his jeep, but I held on to the door.

"Look, I get why you're suspicious of me, but you don't have to be. I would actually love to help you out. I like mysteries, they're fun."

"I assumed someone like you would want a little dose of normality after being cast out from her coven of witches."

I smirked, not even flinching this time when he mentioned it. "Stiles, normal has never been instilled in my life. Plus, I literally know every single thing that high school has to offer me teaching wise. I need a hobby."

He quirked an eyebrow, "Yeah? Well I'm not so sure it's involving yourself with werewolves."

"As they always say, 'Don't knock it 'til you try it.'"

"It's gonna be dangerous."

"Are you forgetting I'm a witch, already?" He laughed a genuine laugh.

"I'll see you around, Child."

"Yeah you will, you literally live right across the street from me." I let him drive to his house, and watched him park, then get out. Just as he was about to go inside, I yelled his name and ran over to him.

"Miss me already?"

"Ha! Funny. Look I just wanted to say sorry again."

"For?"

"You're not the type to go for Padme, okay? You're a Princess Leia guy through and through."


	7. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Darach**

A couple days later, I was sitting with Stiles and Scott in my bedroom, and together we sat around discussing ideas and theories about the alpha pack and the murders. All while getting to know each other a bit more.

"So what can you do, you know, as a witch?"

"As far as I know, I can cast spells, just your average ones, really, I haven't tried anything too complex yet. I can also move things with my mind, bend them to my will, you know, the whole telekinetic gig. Uh, I can manipulate some emotions, like anger, or sadness, or panic. I can even transfer emotions by touch."

"Is that what you did to me the other day in the morgue?" I looked over to Stiles.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Don't be, it was very - soothing - I guess." I gave him a small smile.

"Well, you're welcome then."

"Is that all you can do?" I looked back over to Scott.

"Umm, no I'm like an Airbender, actually. I can manipulate the earth's elements."

Scott and Stiles looked at each other.

"Wow, okay? Anything else you can do? Brew potions, play Quidditch...?" Stiles proceeded.

"Quidditch doesn't exist for one thing, and two, potion craft is incredibly sophisticated. I'm only a beginner."

"Wait so you can _actually_ brew potions?"

"Is there anything else we should know about you?" Scott interfered. "Anymore abilities, or magic powers?"

I paused, "Not that I know of."

"Not that you _know_ of?"

I smiled sheepishly at Stiles' question. "I don't actually know the full extent of my abilities, yet. I could develop more in the foreseeable future, but it's not really known for sure. I've told you about as much as I know."

"And what about that woman, Ginny? Is she a witch?"

"No, she's perfectly mortal. She's my Guardian."

"What do they do?"

"Well since she didn't develop any magic by a certain age in our coven, she was trained to protect me and my magic. Whether that's shielding magic from mortals, or just plain old taking care of me, and moving us both out to Beacon Hills."

"So it's just you and Ginny?" Stiles butt in, "What about your parents, then?"

Flashes of hurt ran through me, and I guess I wasn't as good at hiding them as I thought. The two boys glanced worryingly at each other, and back to me when I answered them.

"They're not really a part of my life anymore."

"June? Are you up here?" Before any of us could move, Ginny opened the door to the three of us.

"Gin, hi." I said, not expecting her home so soon. "What are you doing home?"

"I got off early, who are these two?"

"Oh, right. Ginny, meet Stiles Stilinski, and Scott McCall." I pointed to each of them respectively.

"You're the sheriff's kid?" She asked. Stiles, a little uncomfortable under her questioning gaze, nodded slowly.

"Figured we would meet a some point, what are you two doing in her bedroom?"

" _Ginny!_ Relax, I was just explaining the whole witch thing to them." Ginny tore here gaze from the two boys and rounded on to me.

"You _what?_ June, for the love of-"

"Oh would you relax, Gin? They already know about the supernatural anyway."

"They do?"

"Uh - yeah, for the most part." Scott interjected by flashing his yellow eyes at Ginny. Taken aback, she muttered, "Werewolf."

"Bingo, right on the nose, Ginny," I said as I tapped my nose. Recovering from her surprise, Ginny turned to Stiles.

"And what about you?"

"Uh, human, actually. Just human."

"Yeah, like you, Gin."

Ignoring me, Ginny asked, "Does the sheriff - that is - your dad, does he know know about this?"

"Uh, no. As far as he knows, Beacon Hills just has an unusually high rate of animal attacks."

"Oh. Super. How did all of this come about?"

"When I inadvertently aided and abetted Allison with breaking in to the abandoned national bank and helped her save Scott and his friend Derek Hale from being mauled by two captive werewolves who hadn't felt the full moon in a few months and a pack of alpha werewolves." I rambled. "It was also the same night that we found out someone else is committing human sacrifices to virgins using a method called the threefold death. Well, at least we think it's someone else. Cause I don't really know what kind of werewolf would go around committing ritualistic murders..." I trailed off when I saw her face. It looked like she was a computer trying to download too much at once and just froze instead. When she snapped out of it, she looked beyond frustrated.

"June, you told me you were studying!"

I paused, "Well, we were going to, and then that all kind of just - happened."

Defeated, Ginny retreated out of my room, "I need a drink."

* * *

I was sitting in anatomy, blandly thinking about how I have literally gone over this stuff more times than Harris had, when I got a text from Stiles.

 _Found another body. Garrote used, threefold death. Looks like another sacrifice._

Intrigued, I texted him back.

 _Okay, what do you need me to do?_

In almost no time at all, Stiles responded.

 _Help me prove to Scott that these weren't done by a werewolf._

 _Consider it done, Stilinski. Meet me outside the locker rooms and we can poke around._

I immediately raised my hand, interrupting Harris.

"Yes, Miss Child?"

"Can I go to the nurse?"

"Why should I let you?"

"Menstrual cramps, to the point of vomiting," I said brightly as he and a few other boys blanched. Men are so weak.

Seeing as how my grade in his class was flawless, he had no reason not to excuse me. I gathered my things up, and quickly rushed out of his room.

I impatiently tapped my foot outside the boy's locker room, waiting for Stiles to hurry it along. He suddenly burst out of the locker room, and frantically searched around until his eyes landed on me. He then grabbed my arm and started walking me along.

"How'd you get out? Harris is damn near impossible to persuade."

"Stiles I don't mean to brag, but my grades are amazing. He would have no reason not to trust me when I said I needed to leave the classroom for a little bit-"

"You played a girl card didn't you?"

"I played a girl card."

"Okay, do you have a free period, next?"

"Yeah, do you?"

"Yeah, and we're going to figure this out."

He dragged me to the front office, and we sat outside the front door, under the window looking in to the office. From there, we could see two police officers talking to a blonde, teary-eyed girl.

"Who's that?"

"She's Kyle's girlfriend, the guy found in the woods."

"Okay so, what do you want to do?"

"Just ask her a couple of questions."

"Great thinking, but what are you going to say? 'Hey, I don't mean to be rude, but did you and your dead boyfriend have sex?' It's not going-" Stiles put his hand on the top of my head and practically shoved me further into my seat. I was about to yell at him when one of the officers and the girl came out of the office.

"Wait right here okay?" The deputy asked. The girl nodded, then started to take deep breaths in attempt to calm down. Stiles took that moment to stand up and approach the girl.

"Um - hi, Ashley. Can I talk to you, for a second?" I stayed rooted in my chair, knowing this was going to be a total train wreck.

He pulled her away from the open door, and proceeded to ask, "Sorry, I just need to ask you something really quick, and it's going to sound to sound really, _unbelievably,_ insensitive. So - uh, I apologize in advance."

Oh, my god, he really was going to straight up ask.

"Was Kyle a virgin?"

" _What?_ "

"Your boyfriend. Was he a virgin? Or did you guys...?"

 _Smack._

I flinched from in seat at how loud she slapped him. He looked at her, incredibly offended that he got slapped. Disbelievingly, I got up from my chair and walked over to him.

"Maybe you could _not_ mentally scar her more than she already is, Stiles?"

He looked over at me, "But I-"

"No. Ashley, was it?" I moved her back to the door, "I am so sorry about him, he really has no boundaries, and he's just trying to help his dad. He thinks that the whole virgin thing is important to the case."

A deputy came out and put her arm on Ashley's arm, guiding her away. She turned around at the same time the sheriff walked over to Stiles.

"No, he wasn't a virgin." If he wasn't a virgin, then what the hell was he sacrificed for?

Stiles was pulled over by his dad. "Have you completely lost your mind? I've got _four murders,_ Stiles. You see those men in there?" He gestured back into the office. "That's the FBI, they're pulling together a task force to help," he lowered his voice to a hiss, "because it looks like we've got a full-blown serial killer on our hands. You get that?"

"Yes, dad, I get that."

"Then what the hell are you doing? And what are you doing involving June?"

"I'm trying to find a pattern, and as for June, she offered to help."

Stiles' dad looked to me, and I shrugged, "I like solving puzzles."

He shook his head in disbelief, turning back to his son.

"Stiles stay out of it, okay?" He pat Stiles on the shoulder, nodded at me, and walked away. I walked up to him, and could see his mind was racing a mile a minute.

"So are we gonna stay out of it?"

"Nope, c'mon." He pulled me by the arm once more. We walked down the hallway, and cut a corner. Up ahead on a row of lockers was a shrine for Kyle, with flowers and pictures decorating the scene. I had to admire how efficiently the student body was at spreading love in a time of need.

We arrived at the shrine, and immediately started looking over it for any kinds of clues as to who might have killed Kyle and the others. While doing so, a boy in a blue shirt came up, putting a card that had an Air Force ROTC badge on it, and beneath it saying "Crossed into the Blue." The boy putting it up turned around to walk away, and Stiles and I saw that it was Boyd.

"Oh, hey Boyd! I didn't know you were back at school!" Stiles exclaimed.

Without missing a beat, Boyd replied, "Yeah, I would have told you but we're not actually friends." I flinched. That was a flawless delivery of a harsh reply.

"Oh, yeah." Moving on, Stiles gestured behind him, "Hey so did you - uh - so did you know Kyle?"

Boyd, looking a little sad said, "Yeah. We were in Junior ROTC together."

"So you two were friends then?" I asked him.

He looked over at me, then back to Stiles. "I only had one friend. And she's dead too." Boyd began to walk away, and I called out his name.

"Look - I'm really sorry about Erica. And I'm also sorry I had to attack you. If it was up to me, you know I wouldn't be attacking anybody, I'm more of a lover than a fighter, and-"

"It's fine, June. You did what you had to. I'll see you around." With that, he walked away, and I made my way back over to Stiles.

"So what now? I mean, Kyle wasn't a virgin, so that's kind of out of the picture."

He scratched the back of his head in an anxious way, "Yeah. Maybe it's done in threes? The threefold death, three virgins, so maybe now the cycle is starting new again."

I nodded, "That makes sense, but that means that now it could be anything about Kyle that makes other people a target."

"Right which means that we need to think over how he was taken, that might lead us to the why."

"Okay, well it's like you said, it was a threefold death, nothing new about that, he wasn't a virgin, so cross that out. He was found in the woods, maybe he spent a lot of time out there so it made him a target. Where did you say he was taken, again?"

"Right outside Scott's work, at the vet clinic. Kyle had apparently taken his little dog there because he ate something bad. Actually he said that the dog ate mistletoe, and that he-"

"Did you say mistletoe?" I asked him.

"Yeah, why? Do - do you think it means something?"

"Mistletoe is a curative plant, but can also be poisonous. It can act as a sedative to witches, in fact if they ingest too much, they could die. But it's also poisonous to werewolves, and dogs in general."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm just spitballing here, but what if whoever is doing this is poisoning people's dogs to get to them? What if that's how they're doing it now?"

"So what - people who own little dogs are in danger of being ritually sacrificed?"

"I told you I was just spitballing here."

"But tons of people could own little dogs, how do we narrow that down?"

I threw my hands up, "I don't know Stiles! There are plenty of people who are virgins out there as well?" A lightbulb went off, "But you knew one of the victims."

"So what, I'm the link between all the sacrifices? Thanks, June." The bell rang for next period, and people started filing out of classrooms.

"No, dumbass. I'm just saying - do you know anybody with a little dog?"

"Plenty of people that I-" He stopped, his gaze was fixated over my shoulder. I whirled around, looking down the hall when I saw what he was looking at.

"Lydia!" I called, and started racing towards her, Stiles in tow. We followed Lydia outside, where she was headed to her next class.

"Did you know there's a temple in Calcutta where they used to sacrifice a child _every day_? That's _every day_ a dead baby, Lydia, _every day_! Hey, wanna know what today is? Oh, it's Dead Baby Day! Oh no wait that's _everyday,_ because _everyday is Dead Baby Day! Yay!_ " I was completely lost as to why he started off with that.

"Why are you telling me this?" Lydia asked, with a look on her face that seemed like she was pondering why she ever befriended someone this weird.

"Because Scott's dealing with the Alpha twins." Stiles said, a little resigned.

"Yeah, he seems to think they're more of a prevalent problem." I eyed her when she stopped, looking at me confused.

"You don't know about the twins?" I asked.

"Alphas...?"

"Ethan and Aiden," Stiles said.

"The ones we saw in the library?" I tried reminding her, remembering her saying she wanted one of them.

"Oh yeah," She said with a funny look on her face, "Yeah I know about them."

"Okay, okay good. So look, here's what we're thinking-"

"We?"

"Yeah, June and I." Lydia looked over at me with a curious expression. I smiled and shrugged.

"Okay here's what we're thinking: We're thinking that the murders maybe come in threes. Ancient people love things in threes, right?"

"Right." I input.

"So maybe first it's three virgins, and then - I don't know - maybe it's three people who own little dogs," Stiles said, finally arriving to his point.

Lydia slowed down again to a stop. "I own a little dog," She looked at Stiles, who scrunched up his face as if to say _yeah that's what I mean._

"I am _not_ getting rid of my dog!" She started marching away.

"Lydia will you just _think_ about getting rid of your little dog!" I exclaimed.

" _Nope_. And by the way, you guys cannot discern a pattern by a single data point, so stop trying!"

"So - I'm just supposed to wait around for someone else to die? I'm supposed to just _sit there,_ and watch them die? Just wait for them to wither up and die right in front of me?" Stiles said desperately, his hands flailing about.

Lydia and I both stopped. "Wither?" We sad simultaneously.

"You know what I mean, _die_ ," he said dramatically, "In just a hideously awful strangulating, head bashing, throat cutting kind of way,"

"You know if you keep flailing your arms like that they're going to fall off." I pointed out, and he glared at me.

Lydia, smirking at me, turned back to Stiles, "Maybe it's not your job. You said it yourself, they were strangled with a garrote. That's a human thing to do, so maybe just leave the figuring it out part to someone human."

"What, you mean someone like my dad?"

Lydia rolled her eyes, "No, I mean your dad." She began to walk away, "The sheriff!"

I gripped onto my backpack straps, "So, what now?"

"You still believe me right?" I looked at him surprised.

"Of course I do."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you believe me?"

I thought about it, "Well, in a town where werewolves run rampant, it's hard to pull myself back into a logical state of mind. And you believe something is wrong about this wholeheartedly. Okay, it'd be stupid to go against the gut feeling of a sheriff's kid." He smiled at me, the first genuine smile, where his lips were almost turned down. I'll admit, smiling did wonders for him. But I also could have sworn that I saw guilt flash in his eyes.

"Right, so where to?" I asked.

"The animal clinic, I want to ask Deaton a few questions." We made our way over to the parking lot.

"What's a veterinarian going to know about human - Allison? What are you doing?"

I looked over to see Allison hot wiring a motorcycle, and her friend Isaac sitting on it. She looked up and over at me in surprise.

"June! Oh thank god, I thought you were a teacher."

"Not quite." There was an awkward pause. "So, what are you doing?"

She looked at the bike, "Oh, right. We're trying to piss off the alpha twins as a little payback for terrorizing us a bit ago."

My eyebrows shot up, "By stealing one of their bikes?"

"Not quite. Isaac is going to ride it into the school. If it all works out, one of them's going to get suspended."

"Okay? Well I've had enough illegal activity to fill my quota for the week with us breaking into a bank, so..."

"Okay, see ya June!" And with that, Allison cheerily turned back to the bike.

I turned to Stiles, who was just nodding along like Allison just told us she was going to go see a movie or something. I narrowed my eyes.

"You know between you, me, and Allison, I am the only one who has supernatural abilities, and yet I feel like I am somehow the most normal out of the three of us." Stiles snapped his stare over to me.

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon Stilinski, we have a vet to visit."

* * *

The bells attached to the door chimed loudly, and I walked in to the sound of dogs barking crazily. A man with chocolate skin walked to the front, recognizing Stiles right away, with a bit of curiosity as to who I was.

"You're off school early."

"Yeah, we had a free period, actually. I was going to drop June off then see my dad, he's uh - you know, I guess you probably heard people are kind of getting murdered again - it's his job to figure it out." No shit, Sherlock.

"I gathered as much from the 'Sheriff' title," Deaton said with warm eyes and a playful smile. I was really beginning to love how sarcastic this town was.

"Yeah, um... You know it gets kind of hard for him to do his job when he doesn't have all the information. And we all know he's missing pretty much half the story here, right? So then I started thinking, and I remembered someone does have a lot of information." This started to feel like an interrogation more than asking for help. "Someone who always seems to know more than anyone else around here," Stiles locked eyes with the veterinarian, "You."

Deaton's eyes then flickered over to me, "I take it you're involved with the other half of the story?"

I bashfully waved my hand, "Witch."

He nodded and walked back to the other room, Stiles and I in tow.

Stiles was getting frustrated, and started speaking in a louder voice when Deaton walked over to one side of a metal slab in the middle of the room. "All these symbols and things, the triskele, the bank logo, the mountain ash, all of it's from the Celtic druids," Ooh, druids. That's an goodie. "And anyone who's ever looked up human sacrifice before knows that the druids had a pretty big hard on when it came to giving one up to the gods.

"You ever hear of the Lindow man? Two thousand year old body found in England? He was found strangled, head bashed in, throat cut. Threefold death." Deaton started opening a jar on the table, "They also found pollen grains in his stomach. Guess what favored druid plant that was?"

Deaton pulled out the plant from the jar, holding it up for Stiles and I to see. "Mistletoe." I shuffled uncomfortably towards Stiles, who looked at me warily.

"I'm just telling you everything you already know, aren't I?" He said blankly. Deaton didn't answer, instead he put the mistletoe back in the jar.

"Then why aren't you telling us?" Stiles exclaimed.

Deaton, resigned, spoke quietly, "Maybe because when you spend every moment of the last ten years trying to push something away, denying it, lying about it, it becomes a pretty powerful habit."

Stiles recedes his hostility. "Alright so this guy, is he a druid?"

"You don't know if they're a he, Stiles," I said quietly.

"No. It's someone copying centuries old practice of a people who should have known better." Deaton said in a tone that I could only assume was as angry and frustrated as he could get. "Do you know what the word 'druid' means in Gaelic?"

"Oh, yeah! _Wise oak_ ," I answered.

"That's correct, June. _Wise oak_. The Celtic druids were close to nature. They believed they kept it in balance. They were philosophers, and scholars. They weren't serial killers."

"Yeah, well this one is," Stiles said, frustrated that this conversation wasn't really leading anywhere. His phone started to vibrate, and he yanked it out of his pocket. Lydia flashed on the screen.

"Hey, I can't talk right now. Wait, what? Okay, are you sure he's missing?" He hung up shortly after.

"C'mon, we have to go back to the school. A teacher's gone missing." Stiles turned to Deaton, "Do you mind coming with us? She said they left something behind."

* * *

I stood with Lydia and Deaton, while Stiles went to the music teacher's desk. We stood close together, listening to the recording Lydia found on the teacher's cellphone. It was a sort of ritualistic chant that sounded slightly familiar.

"Can we get a copy of this?" Lydia nodded, and started messing with the phone. I went over to the desk and started helping Stiles with digging around.

"Hey Doc, any help would be - you know - helpful." Apparently to Deaton, helping meant talking.

"Each grouping of three would have it's own purpose. Its own type of power," I stumbled across the teacher's wedding photo, where he dressed in full military uniform, "Virgins, healers, philosophers, warriors..."

"Warriors?" I asked. Deaton nodded. The picture, Kyle, Boyd and the ROTC.

"Could that mean - like - like a soldier?" Stiles looked at the picture in my hand, grabbing it.

"Kyle was in ROTC with Boyd," I reminded Stiles.

"That's gotta be it. That's the pattern. Where's Boyd?" Deaton asked Stiles, who was already digging up his cell phone.

"He's probably home by now, I'm gonna try to get him on the phone." Meanwhile, Lydia was making a curious face.

"Lydia? Is something wrong?" I asked her.

"No, I was - uh - I mean, I just thought of someone else with a military connection."

"Who?" Stiles asked.

"Mr. Harris." she said.

"He would be a closer target, kill two birds with one stone." I offered.

"Okay, c'mon we gotta get to his class." With that, Stiles herded everyone outside the music room, and lead the charge to Harris' room.

We got in and no one was there. Stiles and I headed for his desk, seeing if he left any clues at all.

"This is just one of many possibilities," Deaton told us, "He could have simply left for the day."

Stiles picked up a computer bag, "Not without this."

We gathered around the papers on his desk, when he pulled out one in particular.

"What?" Deaton asked.

"This test is graded 'R,'" True enough, a large R was plastered on the front of the test. I looked over at the papers in my hand, and found one peculiarity.

"This one's graded 'H,'" Deaton took both of the tests, as well as the others on the table and started to arrange them in a particular order. When he was done he looked up, expression grim.

"Stiles, June, you remember I told you that druid is the Gaelic word for wise oak?"

"Yeah."

"If a druid went down the wrong path, the wise oak was sometimes said to have become a dark oak. There's a Gaelic word for that as well."

"Darach," I finished for him, staring at the tests spelling out the exact same word.


	8. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Suspect Number 1**

 _I was never much for running, but now I was running for my life. Not looking behind me, I felt a ridiculous amount of dread mixing in with adrenaline to make a sickening cocktail that ran through my veins. My breath coming in short pants, I pushed further into the woods that resided in the Beacon Hills Preserve._

 _I couldn't even remember why I was running, or who I was running from. All I could remember was that I was about to die, and not even my magic could save my life. Hiding behind a tree, I stopped for a minute to try and catch my breath, but also take in my surroundings._

 _This is why I should have explored the town more often. I should have taken the time to familiarize myself with these woods. Who knew I was going to be running for my life through them._

 _I didn't hear anyone else around me, so I started walking around, to see if I could find a trail that might head out of this god forsaken place. Looking out in the distance, I came across a small clearing. Too dark to see much, I started walking closer to it._

 _As I inched nearer, I started hearing sounds of scuffling. Whirling around, I looked to see if my attacker was right behind me. With no one around, I paused, wondering why I could hear people fighting if I was truly alone in these woods at the moment._

 _Walking into the clearing, I saw what appeared to be an enormous tree. Or it would have been a tree, if someone didn't cut it down. It was a colossal tree stump, and I saw someone lying on it._

 _Not someone, Derek._

 _When I walked closer to Derek, I recognized that the sounds of fighting turned into chanting, that was growing louder and louder in my ears. When I was finally right next to the tree stump, my eyes widened in horror._

 _Derek was unmoving, and sprawled out like he had been dropped from a great height onto the tree. He wasn't breathing, blood was seeping out from under him._

 _"You're next, June." I whirled around to see the ghastly face of what could only be the darach, who then lunged at me._

I shot up from the back seat of Allison's car, panting slightly, looking around so quickly my neck popped.

"Oh the sleeping beauty awakens," Allison smiled at me. Still recovering slightly, I gave her a small smile. Sitting up popping the rest of my joints, I look over to Lydia, who's reading a book on thermodynamic asymmetry.

She looked over to Allison, "So is that whole 'Not let him out of your sight' thing literal, or more like a general rule?"

"Why?"

"You're running on fumes," she stated simply. Allison let out a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah."

"I'm pretty sure that bus holds a lot more gas than this Toyota," I remarked.

"What if we stop?"

Lydia laughed, "Is it really that big of a deal? So we lose them, we know where they're headed."

"You didn't see what happened," Allison said quietly. I shrank further into my seat, knowing she was talking about Derek.

I wasn't there last night. I promised Ginny I would help her test my magic. It was like coming home from school, only to be put in more school. We did simple exercises that I had done back in New York, we meditated, worked on keeping control. Everything I already knew and more.

Control over my magic had never really been an issue for me. I always maintained a balance with my mind and my soul. In fact, I was always commended for it back with my coven: I had always demonstrated more control than even some adult witches could manage.

Ginny and I then proceeded to test other things, pulling out spell books and old notebooks, just to see what else I might be able to do. We were at it for hours, researching, writing, casting, magicking, whatever we could think of. I still wasn't showing any signs of developing anymore abilities than I already had.

But that didn't mean that Ginny wasn't paranoid. She was as careful as could be when it came to magic, and didn't like to leave stones unturned. And when you're involved with something that goes further than the reality the world knows? There are considerably more stones to turn.

It was at about eleven when I got the call. Ginny was putting books back on the shelves when Allison rang my cell. She informed me that there was a fight that occurred with the alpha pack, and that Derek had reportedly fell to his death along with Ennis, an alpha.

I about had a meltdown. Ginny had to sit me down and hold me, citing over and over that there was nothing I could have done.

 _"I could have manipulated the air to catch him, I could have pushed him away from the edge telepathically, I could've-"_

 _"June, baby girl, something else would have happened. You can't save them all."_

 _"But I should have."_

Snapping out of it, I heard Lydia talking again. "I know who started it."

Allison cocked her head, "Is that what _Aiden_ told you?" Lydia looked up from her book, suspicion on her face.

"Aiden? Whoa whoa whoa, hold on a second. Is that why you invited me on this whole little road trip thing? Oh my gosh, you're keeping an eye on them _and_ me." She looked a little disbelieving when the plan came to light.

"So there's nothing going on between you two?" Allison questioned.

"I'm appalled by the insinuation," Lydia said teasingly, and Allison smiled at her.

"Nothing...?" She teased right back, referring to all the times we saw Lydia emerge from Coach's office.

"Nothing." she confirmed. I smiled at her.

"Sure," I drawled out. Lydia turned around and threw the highlighter she was holding at me.

"Hey! I thought we checked the brutality at the door!" We all started laughing.

"But seriously, give me my highlighter,"

"Blue's a pretty color," I said, handing it back to her.

Just then her phone rang, and the screen said _Stiles_.

"Hey, Stiles," Lydia answered far too casually, "Yeah, we're just about to walk into a movie, you know the popcorn and the - yeah, okay," She pulled her phone away and put it on speaker.

"Okay look, Scott's still hurt." We all looked at each other, worried.

"What do you mean still, he's not healing?" Allison asked.

"No he's not healing, I think he's actually getting worse. The blood is turning like a black color."

"It's trying to heal itself but won't, why?" I asked.

"I don't know, okay?" Stiles said.

"Well, what's wrong with him?" Lydia asked.

"What's wrong with him - I don't - do I have a PhD in lycanthropy? How am I supposed to know that?" he said frustrated.

Allison rolled her eyes, "We need to get him off the bus."

"And take him where?" I asked, "A hospital?"

"If he's dying, yeah," Allison was beyond caring if people saw that he was a creature of the night. "Stiles, there's a rest area about a mile up, tell the coach to pull over."

"Yeah, I've been trying."

"Well, reason with him," I tried.

" _Reason?!_ June, have you _met_ this guy?"

"Just try something," I said, as Allison leaned up against the steering wheel and Lydia hung up.

A little while later when the traffic we were sitting in started to ease up, we followed the bus that Stiles had gotten to pull off to the rest stop. When I got out of the car, I saw people sprinting to get clear of the bus, and I saw Coach spraying Febreeze out of a window.

Stiles and Allison both put one of Scott's arms around themselves, carrying him to the bathroom. I had to admit, for someone who has a very dark complexion, Scott was looking alarmingly pale. We got into the bathroom, and I locked the door behind us. Allison put Scott down between two of the sinks, where he continued to groan in pain. Lifting up his shirt, we saw a few long scratches that were covered in black ooze and blood.

"Jesus," I muttered under my breath.

"Oh my god," Allison exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell us?"

Scott had a timid smile on his tired face, "Sorry."

Stiles began rambling, "Okay this isn't too bad, right? June," he looked to me, "you're a witch right? You can heal him?"

"Sorry to burst your bubble here, Stiles but witches don't have a magical healing ability like werewolves do."

Stiles began to panic, "Okay, well, how about a potion? You have like a potion that could like, heal him? Or start the healing process?"

"Sure, let me just take out my cauldron and potion ingredients and whip something up!" I exclaimed sarcastically, and Stiles glared at me.

"I don't get it, I've seen him heal from worse than this," Allison panicked.

"What do we do, then, do we just call an ambulance?"

"What if they can't help him, what if it's too late?" She was clearly freaking out.

"Well, we gotta do something!" Stiles said, just as panicked as her.

"It could be psychological," Lydia offered.

"What do you mean, like psychosomatic?" Stiles asked.

"Somatoformic," I asked, and was received by blank stares from everyone except Lydia. "A physical illness from a psychogenic cause." Stiles waved his arms at me to go on.

"Yes," I rolled my eyes, "It's all in his head."

"All in his head - because of Derek," Stiles pieced together. "He's not letting himself heal because Derek died." Lydia started digging through her purse.

"So what do we do?" Allison asked.

"We stitch him up," Lydia said, holding out a travel size sewing kit. I stared at her. "I'm serious, maybe he just needs to believe he's healing."

It was the best plan we had. Allison went to work right away, taking the sewing kit and walking over to Scott. She then pulled off his shirt, telling Stiles to get paper towels as she went to sterilize the sewing needle.

"He's gonna need another shirt, where's his bag?"

"Um, I'm gonna get it, I hate needles anyway." Stiles offered. "Do you know what you're doing?" He asked. Allison nodded in a reassuring way, whether it was to reassure her or Stiles, I'm not sure.

"Yeah, my dad taught me."

"I mean how fast are you - I mean - the bus. The bus could leave."

"Okay well just make sure it doesn't leave," she argued.

"We can help, c'mon," Lydia tugged on my hand, and dragged Stiles along with it. I glanced in the doorway one last time, hoping that when I saw Scott again he would be on his feet.

* * *

Scott ended up being just fine. I guess I'm not the only person here who felt guilty about Derek. Allison's car was out of gas, so Coach let us on the bus with Scott and Stiles. Scott sat down with Allison behind me and I sat behind Stiles and Lydia.

"God it's freezing today," I shivered.

Stiles took off his hoodie and threw it at me, "Here, I'm boiling anyway."

"Thanks, Stilinski."

"Okay let's go over this one more time. So it's the sacrifices, right? Everything has to do with them and someone who thinks he's like a dark druid of some kind."

"Or actually is a dark druid," Lydia argued.

"Or is a girl!" I offered.

"A darach."

I put my head on the seat in front of me in between the two of them, "You know some ancient cultures sacrificed people in preparation for battle." I mentioned.

Stiles raised his eyebrows, "So we got alpha werewolves against a dark druid,"

"Yeah."

* * *

We weren't getting to the cross country meet on time. It turns out that it was postponed to the next day, so for the meantime we were going to spend the night.

We pulled up inside the Glenn Capri Motel, and I immediately felt a sense of foreboding. There was nothing right about this motel, nothing at all. That didn't seem to deter Coach, for he loaded us all off the bus, and started ranting to us.

"This is the closest motel with the most vacancies, and least amount of good judgement when it comes to accepting a bunch of - degenerates - like yourselves," I wrinkled my nose up. You break into a bank one time and suddenly you're a degenerate.

"You'll be pairing up," I looked over to Allison and Lydia, "Choose wisely. And I will have _no_ sexual perversions perpetrated by you little deviants. Got that? Keep your dirty little hands, to your dirty little selves!" I begrudgingly walked over and got a key, ready to head to our room for the night. I turned around when Lydia wasn't following Allison and I.

"Lydia, you okay?"

"I don't like this place," She stated.

"I don't think the people who own this place, like this place," Allison joked.

I looked intently over at her, "I don't like this place either. Call it a gut feeling, but it's just for one night, Lydia."

"A lot can happen in one night," she said, sounding frightened.

I linked my arm with hers, and we trudged along to our room. It was stale, slightly dusty, basically what you'd expect from a roadside motel.

Allison started up the shower, and I told Lydia I was going to go give Stiles back his hoodie, as it was too warm for it now.

I walked over to their room, and was about to knock on the door when I heard their conversation.

"Alright so I have five," I heard Stiles say.

"Five? You have five suspects?" Scott asked. Suspects? Stiles and I hadn't even started talking about suspects on who the darach is yet.

"Yeah, well I originally had ten. Well, nine, I had Derek on there twice."

"So who's number one?"

"Harris." I nodded, thinking that made sense.

"Harris?"

"Just cause he's missing doesn't mean he's dead."

"So if he's not dead, our chemistry teacher is out secretly committing human sacrifices." He let that idea sit.

"Yeah, I guess that just sounded way better in my head."

"Well, what if it's somebody else from school? You remember Matt? We didn't think he was killing people."

I could hear someone get up from their bed, "Excuse me?" Stiles asked. "I'm sorry, what? I - yes we did, I called that from day one, actually."

"Yeah but we never really seriously thought that it was Matt."

"I was serious. I was _quite_ serious, actually. Deadly serious, and no one listened to me!"

"Who were the other four?" Scott breezed past the subject.

"Derek's sister, Cora. No one knows anything about her, and she's Derek's sister. Next, your boss." I knew he was still on that.

"My _boss_?" Scott sounded surprised.

"Yeah, your boss. I don't really like the whole Obi Wan thing he's got going on," an awkward silence. "Oh my god have you _still_ not seen Star Wars?"

"I swear, if we make it back alive, I'll watch the movie." I smiled. "Who are the last two?"

"Lydia is one of them," I froze. _Lydia?_ But she's Lydia, she wouldn't hurt a fly! Not physically, at least. Her sarcasm and blunt words beg to differ.

"She was totally controlled by Peter, and she had no idea so," I felt a bit of anger. Anger at Stiles for suggesting that, and anger because it would make sense. But I still couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't the darach. She just wasn't.

"And the last one?"

"June." I suddenly felt everything in my body come to a halt.

"June? But she's helped us figure most of this out!"

"Scott, you said it yourself, okay? You don't trust her, and I don't either. We have no idea what happened that she was all of the sudden cast out of her coven, we don't really know the extent of her abilities, who's to say she isn't out killing random people?"

"Are you just saying this because you don't really like her?"

"Scott, it makes sense, you know it does. Okay she's our number one suspect right now."

"So that's why you've been hanging out with her?"

"To see if she'll slip up and reveal too much. My dad always says if you want to catch a killer, you just have to wait for them to make a mistake."

My whole body was shaking profusely. Tears blurred my vision, and the back of my throat was burning. My hands and legs trembling, I silently walked away. Walking down the stairs of the motel, I sat down on the last stair and began to sob. The whole time thinking _what was worse_? The first time I was cast out, or the second?


	9. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: 201**

 **Due to the nature of the episode, I'd like to formally issue a trigger warning for thoughts and actions of suicide.**

I sat on that cold staircase for a solid 20 minutes after I had finished crying. The entire time I sat there I wondered what to do. If I asked Ginny, she would tell me that this is the exact reason why I should have stayed out of everything involved with Beacon Hills and Scott McCall. In that moment, I couldn't help but think that she was right. I should have tried much harder to live a normal life, at least then that would have been a bit easier, and less painful.

I was so angry that I let Stiles' words get to me. I mean I've only known them for a few weeks, at this point, so why should I let it bother me. I knew it was because I invested whatever faith I had in them and their ability to make me feel like I wasn't alone. Scott's a freaking werewolf for crying out loud, and I found so much comfort in the fact that I wasn't the only person dealing with abnormal problems. Everyone was so nice to me, and it came with a new wave of hurt that I realized they're just incredible liars. I mean I should have seen it coming, with how great Stiles was at lying to his dad.

But then to find out not only do they not trust me, despite the many times I have proven to them that they can, they don't even like me. I thought I had found good people to devote my feelings and time in. And maybe they are good people, just not to me.

So I was back to square one. A witch all alone, in a town where other supernatural creatures exist, but still an outsider. The only person apparently on my side is Ginny. How is that for normality? So if I'm not to be trusted, and none of my so-called new friends really liked me, then what the hell am I doing trying to help figure out who a dark druid is? Why should I bother, I mean even if I found the real darach, I bet Stiles would still think that it was me somehow.

I hated that. I hated how much it stung to hear that come from him. To hear he doesn't like me, to hear he doesn't trust me. I hated it. I hated that I thought I had found friendship in him after what had happened in New York. But not even my old coven had accused me of murder. No, they just accused me of being capable, even when I'm not.

I had also considered cutting all ties, and leaving the alpha pack and the darach to Scott and his pack. But every bit of a conscience I had told me I couldn't. People were dying, and if I had the opportunity to save them, then I couldn't let my hurt feelings get in the way. I knew that for now, I had to be the bigger person and help put an end to it even though I really didn't want to.

On those steps I made a promise to myself. When all of this was said and done, I would leave them alone. I'll stop helping, I'll stay out of it, I'll look to lead as normal of a life as a witch can in Beacon Hills. I'll leave Stiles and his friends alone, just like he seems to want, and I'll just be on my merry way until college. Ginny is going to love it.

I was about to head back to my room when I heard feet hopping down the stairs. I turned around and saw the last person I wanted to see.

"Hey June, are you hungry? I was about to head over to the vending machines," Stiles asked me.

I didn't think about what to do for tonight. Do I confront him? Do I lie to him like he had been doing to me?

Not wanting to deal with the awkwardness of being on a bus with him tomorrow before I was free from him, I went with the latter.

"Uh - sure," I stated, and we went to the vending machine.

Boyd was already there, staring oddly at the candy in the machine. He typed in 201, and the piece of candy was stuck halfway out.

"Oh - hang on. You know what? I have a patented method for this," Stiles smiled, "Don't worry."

He gripped the top of the vending machine, and looked like he was about to shake it. Before he could, Boyd's fist went straight through the glass at an alarming speed, sending me jumping back. Boyd took out some corn nuts and menacingly walked away, not uttering a single word. Stiles and I stared at his retreating figure, and I heard some shuffling behind me. I turned to see Stiles indiscreetly taking some of the food.

He stopped when he saw me, "What?" I raised my eyebrow.

"I'm not very hungry anymore," I said, and turned to go back to my room. I walked across the lot to see Lydia heading back to our rooms with some new towels. I wondered if she thought I was the darach, and suddenly felt like she must not, because she was on Stiles' list of suspects too.

She saw me and perked up, "June! Thank god, this place is just as weird as I thought," she said as she trudged back up to the room, me behind her.

"How so?" I asked.

"The owners of this place keep a framed record of suicides that took place here," my eyes widened a bit.

"Suicides?" I repeated as we entered the room.

"Yeah, all 198 of them."

"Jesus."

"Oh he's got nothing to do with it, sweetheart," I offered a small smile.

Allison asked what we were talking about. Lydia began to explain how the people at the front told her about all the suicides that occurred at this motel.

"198?" Allison asked, dabbing a towel to her hair.

"Yes. And we're talking forty years."

"On average that's 4.95 a year, which is actually expected," I said.

"But who commemorates that with a framed number?" Lydia said disbelievingly, "Who does that? Who?"

"All suicides?" Allison repeated.

"Yes. Hanging, throat cutting, pill popping, both barrels of a shotgun in the mouth suicides. Now I don't know about you, but I-" She cut herself off, turning her head towards the vent above one of the beds.

"Lydia?" I asked her.

"Did you hear that?" she asked me.

"Hear what?" I shook my head.

She stood up on the bed, and after a minute her breathing started growing shaky and quick in a terrified manner, and started muttering _oh my god_ under her breath.

"Lydia-" Allison tried.

She suddenly flinched and her hand flew to her mouth, stumbling back on the bed. Allison and I were quick to get behind her in case she fell.

"What is it, Lydia? What happened?" I asked her. She turned around to us, her wide-eyed expression matching ours.

"Didn't you hear that?" Allison and I shook our heads.

"Hear what?" Allison asked.

Lydia, beside herself, got off the bed, "The two people in the other room," she said breathlessly, "they shot each other!" With that, she headed for the door at lightning speed. We followed her outside, to see her entering room 216. When we got there, we saw Lydia surrounded by scaffolding and construction equipment. Lydia had a terrible look on her face.

"It had to be right here! It was a guy and a girl, and they sounded younger but they - they were here." She said frustrated, and Allison walked up to put a hand on her shoulder.

"I believe you," she said calmly, "After everything we've been through, I believe you." Lydia looked to me, and I nodded slowly but confidently. She looked a little bit more relieved.

Lydia headed back to our room, and immediately started packing up everything she had left out.

"You know there is something seriously wrong with this place," she said as she was putting back makeup into a travel-sized bag. "Allison, June, we need to leave."

"But they were suicides," Allison defended, "not murders. And it's not like this place is haunted, right?"

"Maybe it is," Lydia said tiredly, "You know I bet that couple made their suicide pact in that very room. Maybe that's why they're renovating! Maybe they've been scraping brain matter off the wood pane

* * *

ling." She said, growing more frustrated that Allison wasn't as ready to believe her.

"Maybe we should find out," Allison said.

With that, the three of us walked up to the receptionist's desk, only to find that no one was there. A sign read _Back at 6am_ , and Lydia sighed defeatedly.

"Well there goes that," she said. I looked further into the office, and saw the framed number on the wall that Lydia had mentioned.

"Wait, didn't you say the sign said 198?" I asked her, and she turned to look at the sign. Fear spread to her features, when she recognized the sign said 201.

"It was 198," she repeated, "I swear to god, it was 198."

"Okay well what does that mean, that there's been three more suicides?"

"Or three more about to happen," I muttered.

"Okay, Lydia text Stiles, he needs to know about this."

* * *

The four of us were in the room Allison, Lydia and I all shared, telling Stiles about what Lydia heard and what the three of us saw. It turns out while I had been crying and Lydia had been at reception, Scott came in to the bathroom where Allison was showering.

"The last time I had seen Scott act like that was during the full moon," She explained.

"Yeah he was definitely a little off with me too," Stiles agreed, "But actually it was Boyd who was really off."

"We saw him put his fist through the vending machine," I said, and Stiles nodded.

"See? It is the motel," Lydia said. She started rustling through the nightstand, "Either we need to get out of here right now," she pulled out a bible, "or someone needs to learn how to do an exorcism ASAP before the werewolves go crazy and kill us."

Stiles put his hands out, "Okay just hold on, alright? What if it's not just the motel? The number in the office went up by three, right?"

"You mean like three sacrifices?" Allison asked. Stiles briefly looked over to me, and I swear it was like hearing that he didn't trust or like me all over again. I looked down when he turned back to Allison.

"What if this time it's three werewolves?"

"Scott, Isaac, and Boyd..." I trailed off.

"Maybe we were meant to come here."

"Exactly!" Lydia exclaimed, "So can we get the hell out of here now? Please?"

Stiles looked at Lydia, then eyed the bible in her hand. There was paper sticking out of it on multiple sides. "Wait hang on, let me see this?"

He took the bible and opened it to reveal multiple newspaper clippings on the motel Glen Capri. All of them related to suicide. Stiles read out the articles, then proceeded to shake the bible over the bed in hopes of dumping out more articles.

Multiple pieces of paper fell onto the bed, and we immediately started rearranging them so we could read them out.

"These two mention room 217," I pointed out.

"These are probably all the suicides that happened in this room," Lydia mentioned, horrified.

"If every room has a bible," Allison started.

"There could be articles in all the rooms," Lydia finished.

"That's a beautiful thing, most places you know leave a mint under the pillow. This place leaves a record of all the horrible deaths that occurred," Stiles said sarcastically.

An idea struck me, "Lydia, what if that couple you heard? What if the room next door has an article about them?" She looked over to me, scared.

Stiles almost fell over turning around, and he ran for the door. We followed him out to the next room over, only to see Stiles fiddling with a locked door.

"It wasn't locked before," Lydia said.

"Okay look forget it, we need to get Scott, Isaac, and Boyd out of here," Allison said.

We all started to make our way, when suddenly we all heard a high pitched buzzing come from the room.

"That sounds like the handsaw," I muttered.

Stiles rushed back over, " _Handsaw?_ "

He started fiddling with the handle even more, and before he could ram his shoulder in the door, I held him back.

"Stiles, let's not hurt ourselves, okay?" I put my hands out to the door handle, imagining that the lock on the other side of the door was turning. We all heard a distinctive click, and I opened the door. We looked around to see Ethan with the handsaw on, about to press it to his stomach.

"Hey no, Ethan, _don't!_ " Stiles exclaimed. Together we rushed to the alpha, and started wrestling the handsaw out of his grip. Stiles got the upper hand, and the handsaw tumbled from Ethan's grasp. But with the amount of force Stiles had to use to pull it off of him, Stiles went for a fall as well. I quickly grabbed the back of his clothing, and yanked him away from the whirring piece of machinery. At the same time, Lydia unplugged the device.

Standing up, we looked to Ethan, who now had his claws out, and prepared to claw out his own stomach. Again, Stiles and I lunged at him, each of us grabbing a hand, and pulling. The hand I was tugging on lashed out, and hit me on the face, knocking me down. I tasted blood in my mouth and whirled around to see Ethan fall to the heater. His hands touched it, and he yelled out in pain. He then looked around at us, looking like he didn't remember the last thirty seconds.

"June, are you okay?" Allison rushed over to me, helping me up. I swallowed the blood and nodded.

"You're bleeding." She pointed to her lips.

"I'm fine, Allison." I wiped my mouth with my sleeve, ready to get out of this place.

"What just happened?" Ethan asked, panting. When no one answered, he hustled out of the room.

"Ethan, _wait_!" Stiles yelled, following him out. Ethan was halfway down the stairs when I got out of the room.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I don't know how I got there, or what I was doing."

"Okay, well you could be a little more helpful," Stiles argued, "You know we did just save your life!" Ethan turned back around.

"Yeah and you probably shouldn't have." With that he walked back to his room.

"What now?" Lydia said.

"I'll find Scott. You guys find Isaac and Boyd, the best thing we can do is get them out of this place." Allison walked back up the stairs.

Lydia started going upstairs when she looked over at Stiles, who was looking between the two of us.

"What? Why are you looking at us like that?"

"Oh no, I wasn't-"

"Stiles," I cut him off, knowing he was finally going to say something.

"Alright, Lydia I didn't want to say anything. But this? Everything we're going through, we've kind of been through something like this before. A lot like this."

"What do you mean?" She asked quietly. "When?"

"Your birthday party. The night you poisoned everybody with wolfsbane." Lydia went from looking terrified and confused, to angry when she got the point he was trying to make. She started walking away, and Stiles followed suit. I trudged after them, knowing I couldn't keep quiet for long.

"Lydia, I'm sorry okay? Look, I didn't mean that you're trying to kill people, okay? I just - I just meant that maybe - maybe you're somehow involved in getting people to kill themselves," Lydia stared wildly at him. "Which now that I say that out loud, it just sounds really terrible-"

"Don't worry Lydia," I said spitefully, and the two of them turned back around, as if remembering I was there. "He doesn't think you're killing people, or you're a dark druid. That accusation is saved for me."

Stiles widened his eyes, "June, what-"

"I was going to give you back your jacket," I explained, "When I heard your little list of suspects. You said you didn't know me well enough, it was suspicious that I was cast out, 'keep your enemies close to see them make a mistake,' ring any bells?" I was growing angrier and angrier. Stiles looked like he was just caught getting sweets out of the jar before dinner.

"June, I just don't know-" I wasn't having any of it.

"No, Stiles, you don't know. I've only known you for a month or so, how _could_ you know? How could you know anything about me unless you stopped to ask me! Did it ever occur to you, that I could explain myself better if you asked? Did you ever stop to think that maybe I would tell you? God, if you could just get your head out of your ass for one minute, you would understand that I am here to help you! I'm not a criminal, I'm not a murderer. For Christ's sake, the first dead bodies I had ever seen in my life were the ones I saw with you on the night we found Boyd and Cora!"

Tears were streaming down my face as I yelled at him. I have never yelled so much in my life before.

"June-"

"You know what hurts the most is that it totally makes sense. I am a perfect candidate to fit the profile of a darach. I'm new, I arrived shortly before the murders happened. I have a 'shady' past. It all fits! Except for one thing - witches don't need to commit sacrifices to gain power. I was born with my abilities, Stiles, so tell me: Why would I need to go around killing virgins and warriors and all that shit for something I already have?"

"I-"

"Just shut up, Stilinski. One last thing, I can understand where you're coming from by suspecting me, but Lydia? Your friend Lydia that you've known for years? Didn't you put her in the situation to be bitten by Peter in the first place? And you have the gall to even _think_ she's involved in this? She's as about as involved in it as I am!" When I finished, Stiles had an incredibly uncomfortable look on his face.

"June, it's just a theory."

"It is one thing to suspect me, Stiles. But it's another thing entirely to go around pretending that you're my friend," A look of guilt flashed across his face.

"I just - I don't know what more I can do to earn my trust with you guys. I thought being honest was enough, I thought helping you solve these murders was enough, I thought I was enough. But I'm done." I stated, and Stiles looked up at me, surprise on his face.

"What do you mean, you're done?"

"I mean that after we get everybody out of here safely, I'm done helping you. I can't keep helping you, if you're going to question me every single time, I won't do it." I started walking away.

"June! Where are you going?"

"To help Allison find Scott," I said over my shoulder.

"June!" This time, I ignored him.

* * *

I found Allison in Scott's room, but it was empty aside from her.

"Why aren't you with Stiles and Lydia?" she asked me, noticing the tear tracks on my face, "June-?"

"Do you think I'm the darach?" I asked. She looked taken aback.

"No, of course not."

"Really?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Scott and Stiles seem to think that I am. That's all I'm good for, apparently." I sniffled, "Is fitting a damn profile of a supernatural killer."

"June, you called me the other day crying because you killed a spider."

"They're so good for the environment!" I wailed, more tears falling down my face.

"Hey, shh shh, it's okay, June. You're not a killer." Allison hugged me, patting my back reassuringly. "If I know anything, it's that."

"Really?" I asked, pulling away from her.

"Absolutely. Any girl who uses magic to save my life is okay in my book. I've actually only ever seen you use magic to save people." I gave a small, thankful smile.

"Thank you," I said. I took a deep breath and wiped my face, flinching when my hand ran over my busted lip. "Okay, let's go find the others and Scott."

We ran outside the room to find Stiles and Lydia, both with water on their clothing. Behind them we all raced for the stairs.

"I can't find Scott anywhere,"

"It's happening to him too, isn't it?" Stiles asked.

"It has to be," Lydia said. "Wait didn't you say there was another flare on the bus?" Flare?

"Yeah, I'll get it," Stiles said, and we rounded the stairs to head to the bus. Instead, we found Scott. He was dripping wet, standing in a puddle of what smelled like gasoline and had a road flare burning in his outstretched hand.

We all slowly came to face him.

"Scott?" Allison asked timidly.

When he didn't answer, she called out to him again. He looked up at us, his expression reading that of one who had given up on everything.

"There's no hope," he said in a saddened voice. My heart, despite how angry I was at him, ached.

"What do you mean, Scott?" Allison asked, terrified, "There's always hope."

"Not for me," he panted, "and not for Derek."

"Derek wasn't your fault," I said shakily, "You know Derek wasn't your fault."

He ignored me, "Every time I try to fight back, it just gets worse. People keep getting hurt. People keep getting killed."

"Scott, listen to me," Stiles stepped closer to Scott. "This isn't you! Alright? This is someone inside your head telling you to do this. Okay?"

"What if it isn't?" My legs were starting to shake at what he was saying. "What if it is just me? What if - doing this is actually the best thing that I could do for everyone else?"

Scott looked over to Stiles, his voice getting shakier with every word, "It all started that night - the night I got bitten. You remember the way it was, before that?" Stiles nodded fractionally. "You and me, we were nothing. We weren't popular, we weren't good at lacrosse... We weren't important. We were no one. Maybe I should just be no one again. No one at all," I took a step forward, and so did Stiles.

"Scott listen to me," he said fearfully, "You're not no one. Okay, you're someone. Scott, you're my best friend." He wiped the tears I couldn't see from behind him, "Okay, and I need you. Scott, you're my brother. Alright so, if you're gonna do this, then I guess you're just gonna have to take me with you." With that said, Stiles stepped into the puddle of gasoline surrounding Scott's feet.

Scott looked on the verge of a breakdown. Stiles grasped the flare, and let Scott cry. He wrenched it out of his grasp, and threw it to the side. Scott began to fully sob at that point.

Call it a gust of wind, or maybe it was even magic, but the flare started rolling back towards the gasoline.

"NO GET DOWN!" I ran and tackled Stiles. The momentum I used to grapple him sent Stiles into Scott, and all three of us out of the way of the now large fire. Looking up through squinted eyes, I could have sworn I saw a figure in the midst of all the flames. The same figure that I saw in my dream about Derek and the tree.

* * *

The cross country meet had been cancelled. So the next morning we headed back to Beacon Hills. To say that the bus ride back was awkward would be a bit of an understatement. I was sitting alone, and I saw Stiles get up to sit next to me. Thankfully, Lydia took the seat before he could.

"Hey, June."

"Hey, Lyds, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, I just want to say thank you, and I'm sorry." I raised an eyebrow.

"For what?"

"Thank you for sticking up for me when Stiles said I was, you know, involved," I nodded.

"It's no problem, Lydia. It just shouldn't have happened to begin with."

"I agree, but I also want to say sorry."

"You don't have anything to apologize for, Lydia. You didn't do anything."

"No but in the beginning, I was one of the people who suspected you." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"I suspected you when I first found out you were a witch. You know - that night at the pool?"

"I remember it vividly, thanks."

"I don't know if Stiles has changed his mind, but I'm sorry that I never asked you about your past, or thought to talk to you about my suspicions."

"Did me yelling at Stiles suddenly change your mind?" I asked a little bit snappy.

"No, the other day Allison told me you called her sobbing because you had to kill an arachnid."

I grinned from ear to ear, "It was terrifying. I felt so bad because they eat other bad bugs, but it had to go."

We spent the rest of the bus ride talking about random things, like what it was like to live in New York City, or what college offered the best calculus program, or what was hot off the runway in London at the moment. We talked about normal things, and it felt so good.

I had texted Ginny to come and pick me up from the parking lot of the high school, as that was where the bus was to drop us off. I grabbed my bag, telling Lydia to text me, and made my way over to Ginny's car that was waiting for me.

"June!" I turned around to see Stiles running to me. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Ginny.

"Hey - wait! June!"

"What do you want, Stilinski?" I said flatly.

"Look, I just want to say thank you," he grew uncomfortable under my stare. "Thanks for saving Scott and me, back there."

"Sure, is that it?"

"Well no, Scott and I were going to head over to Derek's, see if he really is still alive like Ethan told us. Do you want to come?"

Unbelievable. He didn't even apologize.

"No."

"Great so - what, why?"

"I told you, Stilinski, after we got everyone safely home that was it. I'm done."

"Why?"

" _Why?_ You, my supposed friend, suspect me of murder, and then ask me why I don't want to hang around you anymore?"

"Well, when you put it like that-" I started to walk away, "Hey - June, c'mon." He grabbed my arm.

I glared scathingly at him, and he let me go.

"I mean it Stiles, I'm done trying to help out here. Stay away from me." I turned back and got into the car. Driving off, I could see Stiles still standing where I left him, arm slightly outstretched to where I was standing not seconds before.


	10. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Sweet Dreams are not Made of This**

I kept my word to Stiles, I stayed out of any and all things supernatural for the next two weeks. The only thing I did requiring any supernatural element pertained to my own abilities.

I had explained to Ginny what had happened over at the Glen Capri Motel, and she hugged me. She never said _I told you so_ or _This is why you should listen to me_. She just hugged me while I cried for two hours straight. That was one of the things I loved about Ginny, she was never one to push her discipline over my feelings.

I told her I was done with Scott and his problems, and that I was really going to try and live a normal life. Ginny looked at me, her lips in a tight line, but she nodded all the same. She told me that I would still need to work on my magic with her, and that we could delve further into potion craft if I wanted. She taught me every couple of days, leaving the ones in between for me to focus on school.

Knowing literally everything that school had to offer meant that I was bored nine times out of ten. My homework was always done as soon as I got home, so I started picking up other hobbies. One of those was online shopping.

I remember one evening I was sitting in my room, when Ginny came home and walked in to see boxes upon boxes of things from Amazon.

"What's all this?" she asked me, eyebrows raised.

"Stuff," I replied. She scanned the room and pointed in the corner.

"I didn't know you could play," she mentioned as she went to pick up the guitar that I had just bought.

"I learned last night."

"You learned to play an instrument last night?"

"Yeah, took like four hours,"

She shook her head, "And where are you getting the money to buy all of this stuff, June?"

"You know where."

"June Child, that's for emergencies only!"

"Yeah, because I'm going to blow through millions of dollars before a real emergency Ginny."

She pinched her nose, "June, if you're so bored, try getting a job, or writing in your journal, or something - "

"Normal?" I finished her sentence. She looked up at me.

"It's okay to miss them, June."

"Miss who? As far as I know, I still hang out with my _real_ friends. Lydia, Allison, and I were actually planning to go to San Francisco soon, after - "

"After the sacrifices stop and the alpha pack is dealt with?"

I sighed, "I don't get it, Ginny. I'm not involving myself, just like you asked! Why do you keep mentioning it?"

"I just hate seeing you like this, June! You're so – "

"So what? Content? Normal? Fine?"

This was a conversation we had kept having. I was so lost as to why she kept bringing up the darach and the alphas when she wanted me away from all of that in the first place. I was doing exactly what she had planned for me to do.

"Alright, June. If you want to back out of this, fine. But you are not going to be sitting around here wasting your time. Get outside, go volunteer, or do something purposeful with your time. In the meantime, your debit and credit cards are mine."

"Ginny, they're already saved in my computer."

"Well then delete them, June! Jesus."

"Fine, fine! I wasn't getting bored anyway." I deleted the cards out of my computer, and let Ginny fish through my wallet. She walked out of my room and I sighed.

I didn't want to tell her that I was trying to distract myself from more than just Stiles and Scott. My dreams had been acting up ever since that night. Although, Derek wasn't in them anymore.

They were more or less the same, really. I was always running through the woods, and stumbled across the clearing. The same enormous tree stump was always there, and there was always someone on it.

The person always varied, but it was always terrifying. At first it was Derek, but then it morphed into Ginny. If it was Ginny, she was on the tree, head bashed in, throat cut, and strangled. In those dreams, I always found myself with a garrote in one hand, and a knife in the other. Stiles would suddenly appear, yelling about how he was right, and it was all my fault Ginny was dead.

Other nights, it was Allison. I would run over to the tree, to see her lying lifeless, with a gaping hole in her stomach, blood seeping into the tree.

One night it was a girl I had never seen before, with gunshots in her abdomen. Her eyes glowed blue, and she looked terrified.

Some of the most peculiar were the ones I had about Stiles. He was the only one who was ever alive in my dreams. I would run up to the tree stump, to see him sitting cross legged on it. He was staring intently at a strange board game right in front of him. It had a bunch of black and white looking pebbles, all laid out in some form of strategy. Stiles would look up at me, and ask if I wanted to play.

Last night was the worst dream I had to date.

 _I was running for my life, yet again, through the woods of the Beacon Hills Preserve. I darted behind a tree, in hopes to get a reprieve from my pursuant. Panting, I noticed ahead of me was a clearing. The moonlight seemed to shine upon a particularly large tree stump, and there I saw a girl sprawled about. She was wearing what looked to be a standard issued set of clothing, like something you would see inside of a prison, or a mental institution._

 _Her blonde, scraggly hair was covering her face. Before I could go to wipe it away and see her face, she bolted upright into a sitting position. Whirling around, her gaze locked on me, and I froze._

 _I was looking at myself._

 _She looked deranged, and petrified all at once. She kept gazing around, when I saw it. On the left side of her head, just behind her ear was a hole, a hole that someone had drilled into her - into_ my _head. I gasped, and once again her eyes locked with mine again._

 _"Watch out, June. You can't possibly know what is coming for you." She explained._

 _"What do you mean?" I asked her. "What are you saying?"_

 _She then curled up in the fetal position, rocking back and forth and chanting my name, "June, June, June, JuNE, JUNE! JUNE! JUNE! JUNE!"_

"JUNE! STOP! JUNE!"

I whirled around wildly. I could feel the tears pouring out of my eyes and my hands were positively trembling. Ginny was looking up at me, and I looked around.

I was standing on top of my bed, looking facing the chalkboard painted wall that my bed leaned up against. I had a piece of chalk in my hand, and I had been drawing all over the board. My eyes widened when I saw it was just the one drawing over and over: the huge tree that was in every single one of my dreams.

Ginny pulled me off of my bed and immediately inspected my face, wiping my tears. Her eyes were wide as she shushed me, and hugged me. When I had calmed down to the point of hiccups, she pulled me out of her embrace.

"Ginny, I don't-"

"You need to tell me everything, June. Please, don't shut me out of this." With a shaky breath, I launched into the story of all of my dreams. How they all had similar elements, just different people dead. It was especially difficult to explain to her that I saw her dead, and that I had killed her. Like the darach Stiles expected me to be. The entire time I talked, Ginny listened intently, and stared at me deeply.

When I finished, all she could do was sigh. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, and began to say her piece. "I'm thinking this might be the cause of a new ability manifesting itself through your dreams."

"Okay, so my own magic is plaguing me with nightmares, awesome."

"That's usually how this comes about, is a witch's dreams. It's a form of the Sight. It's a force of nature that only witches are attuned to."

"So what does it do?"

"It's trying to warn you."

"Of what, Ginny?" I asked. I was so delirious, and frustrated, and upset that I couldn't ever be normal. I couldn't even be normal by a witch's standards, and I was sick of it.

"I don't know, it's typically just brief flashes that occur. Mostly in dreams." She looked at my distraught face, "It does not mean they are certain, alright? Seeing is one of the most complex forms of magic, because there is no certainty to it. Your dreams could be completely meaningless, we just have to give it time."

* * *

Boyd died two days later. Sight or not, I didn't see it coming. All of my friends (so really just Lydia and Allison) looked grief-stricken, and I couldn't bring it upon myself to burden them with the problems I had been experiencing. Instead, I did the very best I could to be there for them without getting myself involved again.

It was hard, Boyd was exceptionally nice to me on the few occasions we had talked to one another. I knew he didn't really like Stiles or Lydia or Allison that much, but he seemed to not mind my presence. We weren't close, by any means, but it still stung every time I walked by his locker that had been made into a shrine by the student body.

Guilt loomed over my head like a dark thundercloud after he died. I think Allison knew it too, because one day during passing period she pulled me to the side of the hallway.

"No one is blaming you, June. Not even Stiles. There wasn't anything anybody could do."

"It's just-"

"Look, June. Involved or not, Boyd would have died. I'm just saying on behalf of everybody: don't blame yourself."

The day went a lot better after that.

The next day, I decided to heed some of Ginny's advice. Miss Blake had announced that there was to be a recital at the school tomorrow to help raise money for the families of the sacrifice victims. After class, I told Lydia to wait for me outside as I walked over to Miss Blake's desk.

"Miss Blake?"

"Yeah, June, whatcha need?"

I scratched my wrist, "I was wondering-"

"Did you run out of paper or something?" She asked me, a small smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly taken aback.

"June you were drawing on your wrist the entire class period."

"Oh," I smiled at her bashfully. "It's nothing, I just" I showed her my drawing of the tree stump that covered the entire length of my forearm, "Like drawing cut down trees, I guess." She eyed it with a hint of suspicion.

"I wasn't going to say anything, your work in my class is exceptional. Did you need me to offer you any work outside of class? I'd be happy to give you some recommendations."

"Actually, no. I was going to ask if you needed any volunteers to help you set up this recital."

Miss Blake smiled brightly, "Well I can't really say no to any help offered. We could actually use some, now that I think about it."

I gave her a grin, "Great! I was also wondering if you were taking donations now."

Surprised, she considered my question, "Well not really, I mean it hasn't officially started. But are you looking to donate? I'm sure I could start a coin jar..." She started looking around the classroom.

"No need, I'll just write a check." Ginny may have taken all my credit cards, but I still had access to money. I whipped out my checkbook, and wrote down my donation. Ripping the check out, I handed over the money with a smile on my face.

"Well thank you very-" her eyes widened to a remarkable size when she saw how much I was giving, "J-June! How - I can't-"

"Those families will need it more than I will," I assured her. She gave me a breathless smile, and I told her to email me more details about the recital. I walked out of the classroom with a new spring in my step, and headed over to Lydia.

"So what were you asking me?"

"Well, I came across this book, and I was wondering if you'd read it."

"I probably have but go on," I stopped at my locker.

"It's called _The Effect of Topography and Geology on Telluric Currents,_ ring any bells?"

"Not necessarily the book, but telluric currents sure do."

"What are they?" She asked me.

"Are you sure you want to know? It's practically a pseudoscience, and you hate pseudoscience."

"Tell me," She pressed. Quirking an eyebrow, I began to put away the books I didn't need to bring home.

"Well they're geomagnetic fields. Pretty powerful ones too, actually. They run all through the earth, and actually can be affected by lunar phases..." I trailed off, stopping what I was doing.

"Lydia."

"What?" She asked me, looking far too innocent for her own good.

"No." I told her plainly.

She scoffed, "Ugh come on, June! We might really need your help."

I shut my locker and walked off, "I gave you guys my help, and look where it got me!"

"C'mon, he said he was sorry," I turned back to her so quickly she almost fell over trying to stop.

"Is that what he told you? That he was _sorry_?" I seethed. Lydia looked confused.

"He might have told you he was sorry, but I _never_ got any kind of an apology."

"June-"

"No. I don't want any part of this, Lydia. I can't work with people who don't want my help."

"June, you understand that people are dying right? You know things, more than most people in this town and yet you're too selfish to even put petty little arguments aside to help save lives?"

I flinched when she said the word 'selfish.'

"You think I don't know that? You think I don't know exactly how selfish I am being? You don't think that it runs through my head everyday that I could be saving lives, but instead I'm not? Do you have any idea what that's like, to know that and understand it, yet still choose to do nothing?"

"June that's not what I meant-"

"Intent versus impact, Lydia. You might not have meant it, but this is the outcome your words brought." Tears were welling up in my eyes. "Lydia the reason I am in Beacon Hills was because I was cast out of my coven. I was cast out of my home, of my friends, of my family. So forgive me, for overhearing someone say similar things about me that I had heard not even three months ago, and choose to react this way."

"June I'm sorry, but-"

"No, Lydia. _I'm sorry._ Some wounds are just too fresh. I have to go." I briskly left the school, gone any trace of a pep in my step.

* * *

Ten o'clock rolled around, and I was wrapping up some leftovers in the fridge when I heard a knock at the door. Confused, I put the food in the fridge, and headed towards the main entrance. When I opened the door, it took everything in my not to slam the door in his face.

"What now, Stilinski? Are you going to send Allison to ask me about the lunar eclipse? Or even get Ginny to ask me about different types of druids-"

"I came to ask you how you were cast out. I mean really, and truly, listen to you."

His words throw me for a loop, and my eyes widen.


	11. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Juney Moony and the Coven of Witches**

"You what?" I asked quietly.

"I want to know the story. You told me I could find out if I just asked you, so here I am."

"Why now? I haven't talked to you in weeks, Stiles." He uncomfortably scratched his temple.

"I just came from Derek's. Peter kind of launched into this story about Derek and his first love. I couldn't help but think about how Ms. Blake was talking about _Heart of Darkness._ "

"The whole unreliable narrators thing?" I asked.

"Right, and it got me thinking. No one really knew your story, your 'narration' before they made accusations."

"They?" I asked pointedly, glaring at him.

"Okay, me. I didn't know the whole story, I couldn't see the whole board before. And I was just hoping that it wasn't too late to hear your story." He looked honest, and I so badly wanted to believe him.

"Stiles, I-" I began.

Stiles threw his hands out in front of him, "I'm not asking you to involve yourself back in this. I just figured I would try and right a wrong here."

I rolled my eyes, "Come in," I said as I opened the door wider.

He practically launched himself inside. I shut the door and lead him up the stairs to my bedroom.

"You know, I never expected this place to look so-"

"Normal?"

"Well, yeah."

"I'll be sure to put up extra cobwebs and torches next time," I said, and Stiles gave a small smile.

I walked into my room, and immediately felt self-conscious. Books were strewn across every surface, and clothes were scattered all around.

"What's this on your wall?" Stiles looked up at the drawings of the tree stumps. Mortified, my face flushed.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." I sat up on my bed, and pat the bed for Stiles to join me.

He sat down, eyes staring into mine.

"So..." I began, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything you're comfortable telling me," I searched his face, and for the first time in what felt like ever, it was void of suspicion.

"Well get comfortable, it's a long one."

* * *

 _I was waiting for the clock to strike twelve. I was about to turn thirteen, and my magical ability was about to make itself known. I could finally start practicing magic, and learning control. It was daunting, but I was thrilled._

 _The hand made it's way to the twelve, and everyone in the room shouted, "Happy birthday!" My parents rushed over and hugged me, and I felt very excited. This was it, this was the time._

 _"So now what?" I looked at my mother._

 _"Well, we just wait. Something will happen today, we just have to be patient, and let it happen." She responded soothingly._

 _"Don't worry Moony," my father planted a kiss on my cheek, "it'll happen, we all know it."_

 _Later that morning, while making breakfast in the large penthouse that displayed the Manhattan skyline, I telepathically moved a plate of chocolate chip pancakes closer to me._

 _My parents were absolutely thrilled. Telepathy showed signs of strength and leadership in witches. Later that day, during the party my coven threw for me, I was introduced and assigned to my Guardian, Ginny Child._

 _It was no secret that I was talented at what I could do with my magic. By the time I had turned fourteen, I had passed many tests demonstrating a witch's control over their ability. Witches much older than me still struggled with things I considered a breeze. I was heralded as a prodigy in my coven. So much so, that there were even rumors the High Priestess of my coven was talking about me._

 _Life was great, I went to a great school, had wonderful friends inside and outside my coven, and had the most loving family I could dream of._

 _For three years, I worked with Ginny on not only mastering my ability, but delving further into the magic of telepathy. We conducted research of all sorts, performed experiments of many multitudes, and were praised for our work. Ginny had started to teach me about potion craft, and how it could amplify my ability to work with magic. Like my magic, potion craft seemed to come naturally for me. It was easy._

 _Ginny and I had grown closer as well. She grew from being my Guardian, to being my mentor, to my friend, to being a combination of mother and sister for me. She often took care of me when my parents had to leave town. We grew closer, and that made it so much easier to work with her. Ginny helped me through my first heartbreak, the slip-ups I had with my magic, the papers I had written on our research._

 _I had a good life. I was given quite a bit of good fortune. It didn't last nearly as long as I hoped. When I turned sixteen, things took a turn for the worse._

 _My sixteenth birthday brought a lot of fun memories of my sweet sixteen and my friends. But among all the new things I had received with turning sixteen, I also received a new ability. I could cast spells alongside my telekinetic ability. The two were different branches of magic, and while some witches had the two of them, no one had ever developed the ability so late after their thirteenth birthday. It was unheard of._

 _Word spread through the coven, and suddenly people grew curious. Why would my magic remain dormant so long? It had never happened before. My parents kept reassuring me that this was okay, although there were times where I wasn't sure if they were trying to comfort me or themselves. Regardless, I started up with new lessons on spell casting. It was trickier than I could recall telekinesis being, but I seemed to be a natural. Eventually, after six months of my new ability, my parents seemed to warm up to the fact that their daughter was one of the lucky witches who had more than one ability. Surely it was another good sign._

 _It soon after became clear that my good fortune in my coven had run out entirely. Six months after my sixteenth birthday, I showed signs of an empath, a more rare ability among witches. The first person I told was Ginny, as I didn't think it was okay to tell my parents. They were already so hesitant about my spell casting, and I didn't want them to run and tell the High Priestess, as I didn't think that I was that much of a threat._

 _Ginny begged to differ. She told me to talk to my mom, and to get the High Priestess involved. Surely then we could properly research why I had more abilities than any witch we had ever come across. Reluctantly, I went and told my mother._

 _To my surprise, my mother freaked out. She kept yelling at me, asking me if I was sure, and then she dragged my father into the whole mess. He could hardly look me in the eyes, as if I was just some freak of nature._

 _My mother did end up going to the High Priestess. Knowing that my parents were well respected higher ups in the coven, my case would immediately go under investigation._

 _The next two months were pure hell. I was poked, prodded, and examined by so many spells, some excruciatingly painful. All to see how it was possible. I learned along the lines that no witch in recorded history had exceeded two abilities. None._

 _That wasn't the only thing I learned. Under so much stress and pain came another ability: I could manipulate the earth's elements. It came as quite a shock, and the officials in my coven were flabbergasted._

 _People were starting to panic. Everyone that I had known since birth started avoiding me like the plague. Rumors started swirling about that I would attempt to overthrow the coven, and eventually kill everyone I loved the most. It grew to be so suffocating that the only person I talked to would be Ginny._

 _Ginny never left my side, not once. She told me that she didn't care how many abilities I possessed, she knew none of the rumors were true. She said that she didn't care what kind of witch I was, she cared what kind of person I grew to be._

 _I wish I could say the same for my parents. I hardly ever saw them after my fourth ability came forward. It wasn't until one spring day did I receive any kind of information on what my parents were doing._

 _"June, wake up. Moony, you gotta get up now," my father said gently. I looked around and groggily locked eyes with my father. His grim facial expression was enough to bring me out of my sleepy haze._

 _"What's going on?"_

 _"I can't talk about it, just get up, and get dressed. Wear something more formal,"_

 _"Where are we going?"_

 _"We're meeting with the Council."_

 _Council meetings were a big deal. The Council consisted of the High Priestess, my parents, and several other elected officials in the coven. Together they made decisions regarding the wellbeing of the coven, and the supernatural events that affected it._

 _I got dressed and headed down to the kitchen, where my parents and Ginny were all waiting for me. Thankfully, Ginny looked as confused as I did. We all left the penthouse and headed down to the streets, where the car to take us to the council was waiting. Some time between us leaving and slipping in the elevator, Ginny grabbed my hand._

 _She didn't let go until she had to. Walking up to the building where the Council was to be in session, we learned that this session was to be a public affair. My eyes widened, usually the Council only opened up to the public in times of real crisis. My parents, without so much as a second glance at me, left to go to their seats. It left me and Ginny to walk into the center of the council room by myself._

 _I looked over at Ginny, frightened, "Gin, what-"_

 _"No matter what happens," she told me with the utmost sincerity, "I'm right behind you."_

 _Behind us, the doors opened, and I walked through._

 _It was the longest walk of my life, to get to the center of the room. I heard hushed whispers echoing all around me, and even scoffs of disbelief. I could feel every pair of eyes on me, and I suddenly felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack._

 _"June Astor, make your way to the center of the room please," I looked up at the High Priestess. My palms went from clammy to full blown sweaty in a matter of seconds. I had never met this woman before, she was only ever talked about. And now she was here, it felt like she was the judge, jury, and executioner for the trial I didn't even know I was on._

 _I made my way to the front of the room, breathing shallow, and legs shaking._

 _"I'm sure you know why you were brought here today?" She asked me in a firm tone._

 _I quickly shook my head, scanning the room for my parents. They were sitting not too far to the right of the High Priestess._

 _"No? You are not aware of the panic you have caused this coven? The hysteria you bring with you? The fact that you have four abilities, of the likes that no witch has ever been recorded to have?"_

 _"I'm aware of that last one," I said in a small voice. The High Priestess narrowed her eyes fractionally._

 _"I have heard many things about you, June. None of which lead me to believe you are a violent person of any sort. You are incredibly smart, and a remarkably fast learner. Yet I still am told many things. Many things."_

 _"Good things, I hope," I squeaked._

 _"June Astor, it has come to my attention that you are now a problem to this community, and you potentially pose a threat to our way of life. Your abilities are unlike anything in the history of our kind, and our fellow witches want to know just how much of a threat you are."_

 _"But I'm not! I've never hurt anyone, I've never lost control, I-" I stopped when she put her hand up._

 _"But you could," She said with purpose dripping on each word. I trembled._

 _"I would now like to dismiss the public, as what happens with June is now a matter of the Council. Thank you for being here today." Everyone started leaving, and I spun around the room to find Ginny. True to her word, she remained rooted to the spot._

 _When everyone left, the High Priestess spoke once more, "I'm afraid, June, that the Council has already reached a decision."_

 _"Verdicts that quick are never good are they," I asked defeatedly._

 _"The solution was brought to me by none other than your parents. Seeing that they are your legal guardians, I deemed it fit for the solution to be one on their terms. With this, June Astor, I formally cast you out of this coven. We will begin the work of severing all ties with you, and your suspicious ways."_

 _"Cast out!" I was crying now, "But I don't understand, why do we have to do this?"_

 _"Your abilities are now considered a threat to this coven. We cannot have you practicing magic in our midst. We cannot take the risk that you will someday wish to overthrow us entirely. Who would be able to stop you?"_

 _"But I could never do that!" My cries had turned to sobs, "Please, High Priestess, I could never."_

 _"It is a risk we cannot take." She repeated._

 _"Mom please,_ please _don't do this! Dad, you can't let them do this!"_

 _"We ask within the month for you to vacate New York City. It is a rule that you cannot return to the city of your ex-coven for five years. We will be cloaking our coven in spells designed for you to never see us again. You are to sever any and all ties with your school and your family." She was starting to raise her voice so she could be heard over my sobs._

 _"Please! I don't have anywhere else to go!"_

 _"That is not a concern of this coven."_

 _"But-"_

 _"High Priestess." I turned to see Ginny walk up to me, tears falling down her face._

 _"I'm sorry, this is a matter of the Council."_

 _"I understand that, ma'am. But I am June's Guardian."_

 _"Not anymore."_

 _"With all due respect, I will always be her Guardian. I cannot allow you to cast her out to be left alone."_

 _"What are you saying, Miss...?"_

 _"Child, High Priestess. And what I'm saying, is that I ask that you cast me out as well, so that I can continue to protect her and her magic."_

 _The High Priestess's eyes widened, "You would willingly let yourself be cast out of all you know for this girl?"_

 _"I take my position as Guardian very seriously, ma'am. I'll protect this girl until I die."_

 _There were hushed whispers as the Council considered this. I rounded on Ginny._

 _"Ginny, I can't ask you to-"_

 _"You never had to, June. I'm here for you always. I love you, and I will not let you do this on your own."_

 _"Very well, if this is the path you choose, then I hereby cast you, Ginny Child out of this coven as well. You have the month to vacate New York City."_

* * *

I wiped the remaining tears from my face. Stiles had a look of pity on his face. I was very thankful he didn't verbally offer me any.

"So what happened then?"

"My parents disowned me. Legally and figuratively. I had to sever all ties with them and my friends. I did what the High Priestess asked, I left New York with Ginny. And we came here. Clear across the country where they couldn't bother us again."

"But your _parents_ were the ones who wanted to cast you out?"

I nodded. "They couldn't have the fear and stigma surrounding their name, so this was the best option."

"But why? I mean, didn't someone say something?"

"No one outside that council room knew that it was their idea to cast me out of the coven. They paid off everyone, including me and Ginny."

"They paid you to keep quiet?"

"They gave me half of the Astor fortune as a means to keep quiet. They kept saying it was the last act of parenting they could do, but Ginny and I both knew that was a lie. They couldn't have their reputation ruined by the fear and hysteria surrounding me, but they also couldn't have people knowing they willingly gave up their child."

"So they were left the martyrs in the end." I nodded again.

"So you were disowned by your parents?"

"I was legally adopted by Ginny in that month."

"But don't adoption processes take months, even years to settle?"

"Stiles we're talking about magic here, it tends to expedite things."

He offered a small smile, "Right, sorry."

"Anyway, Ginny legally adopted me, and I changed my last name to Child. After everything that happened, I was glad to let all of that go."

"And now?"

"I wouldn't go back, if that's what you mean. I couldn't stand it, never really knowing why."

"But you said-"

"I said why the cast me out. But I just don't know _why,_ you know?"

"No I can't say that I really do."

I gave a watery chuckle. "The official reason was due to hysteria and panic at the fact that I _might_ kill people in the future to get what I want in life. But I already had it. Those people in that coven knew me since the day I was born, they knew who I already was as a person. They knew my temperament, they knew my intelligence, they knew everything. And yet they still cast me out. My own parents still cast me out, then bought my silence, and I'll never know why."

We let that settle between us. It became increasingly hot in my room, so I walked over and opened my windows. I sat back down on the bed, and listened to the silence.

"Everyday I'm more okay with being cast out." Stiles looked over to me, "They showed me their true colors, and who they thought I could be. I just - I wish I could somehow find a way to prove them wrong. I'm a good person, I know that through and through. I thought that when I made friends with you guys, I was going to be okay. I guess when I heard what you were saying about me - I don't know, it just felt like I was being cast out a second time. Like maybe they were right about me, I was too much for my own good."

Stiles tilted his head, and said, "June, I never meant to - I just, ugh," he sighed. He ran his hands through his hair, and locked eyes with me.

"June Child, I am so-" He was cut off by his phone ringing.

"Scott, I can't really talk at the moment. But you - Lydia - ? The school? Okay, yeah, I'll be right there. June, I have to go."

"Is Lydia okay?" I followed him out of my room and down the stairs.

"I don't know, Scott said he got a call from her telling him to meet her at the school. That it was like the last time."

"Last time like the pool last time?"

"I think so."

"Great, I'm coming with."

Stiles turned around to look at me with wide eyes, "June, you don't need to get involved-"

"I know I don't need to, but this is Lydia. I need to make sure she's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just let me grab my shoes. I call shotgun."

"June, it's literally just the two of us, you don't need to call shotgun." He said as I closed the door of my house.


	12. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Never Volunteering Again**

Stiles drove like a bat out of hell. I would have complained, but part of me figured I probably shouldn't as I just got on his good side. The other part of me was too concerned about getting to Lydia to care about his driving. Halfway to the school, Scott's bike pulled up next to us, and then drove out ahead to take the lead.

We pulled into the school parking lot, and before Stiles could even stop the car completely I had already hopped out.

"Where is she?" I asked Scott, who had dismounted his bike and started walking at a quick pace towards the school.

"Over here," I heard Allison call to us. Together, the three of us walked over to where Lydia and Allison were standing.

I rushed over to them, "Lydia, are you okay?"

She looked up at me confused, "June, why are you here? And with Stiles no less, I thought-"

"I thought something happened to you, I thought you got hurt. As for Stiles, well, we're working on it."

"Lydia?" Stiles asked her, getting back to the topic at hand.

"It's the same thing," she said, "Same thing as the pool. I got into the car heading somewhere totally different and ended up here. And, you told me to call you first if I find a dead body."

"Whoa, you found a dead body?" I asked her.

"Not yet," She answered.

"Not yet? What d'you mean 'not yet?' Lydia, you're supposed to call us _after_ you find the dead body, not before!" Stiles exclaimed.

Lydia looked fed up, "Oh no, I'm not doing that again. You find the dead body from now on."

"Lydia," I started.

"How are we supposed to find the dead body?" Stiles asked, gesturing wildly with his hands. "You're always the one finding the dead body! You-"

" _Guys._ " Scott interrupted. We all looked over, following his line of sight. "I found the dead body."

Indeed he had. There was a police officer lying on the top of the sign for the high school, eyes wide open, and blood pouring down the letters of Beacon Hills High School.

"Jinkies," I squeaked.

* * *

Before I could get to class the next day, Stiles came up to me and nearly crashed into me.

"Watch the boots, Stilinski, they're new!"

"Sorry, sorry, look come with me." He took my hand and dragged me along with him behind a pillar.

"Why are we hiding-?" I started walking around the pillar, when Stiles spastically grabbed onto my hips and pulled me back, slamming me back against the pillar.

"What are you, nuts?"

"Stiles."

"What?"

"You can let go of me now," I could see my breath move his hair, that was how close he was to me. His grip tightened in realization, and just as quickly let me go.

"Sorry."

"What are we looking for here?"

"Okay look, I think my dad is planning something, I just want to see what it - crap. He saw us," Stiles started tugging on my arm, while simultaneously pulling his backpack up over his head.

"Hey! Hey, hey," we froze, "back it up." Both of us turned around.

"I know what you're thinking," the sheriff started, "I know you've got all these ideas about patterns and people dying in threes."

"Murdered, Sheriff Stilinski," I corrected.

" _Sacrificed_ , actually," Stiles went on.

"I've got half the state including the FBI coming in on this," Stiles shook his head, knowing that they weren't going to be able to help anybody.

"They're not getting away with killing one of our own," the sheriff finished.

Sadness was all over Stiles' face, "Dad, they killed Tara. You know, how many times has she helped me with my math homework when I had to wait at the station for you?"

The sheriff's gaze softened. "Just - uh - you and June get to class, okay?" He walked away from the two of us.

Stiles sighed in frustration, and started to walk away.

"Hey," I grabbed his arm, my hand sliding down into his, "Stiles, we're going to figure this out okay? It's gonna be okay."

"Is this that empath stuff that you're doing right now?" He asked me looking at my hand.

"Only a little bit," I gave him a smile. He smiled right back.

"Thanks," He mentioned, then perked up, " _We're_ going to figure this out? We? As in you, and - and me? We as in, you're involving yourself back into all of this?"

I rolled my eyes, "Don't read too far into it, Stilinski. You'll give yourself an aneurism."

We both made our way to English, and Miss Blake called me to her desk.

"June, would right after school work for you tonight? Or can you not make it to the recital? If not, I totally understand-"

"Miss Blake, after school sounds perfect. I get some people are a little concerned over safety and whatnot to the point where they rescinded their help, but you can rest easy. I will be there." I offered her a smile, and she gave me a relieved one in return.

"Also, I'm fairly certain that this paper is okay, but I was wondering if I could have you look over it?" I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out a black folder, "It's a paper that I wrote on the evolution of the American criminal justice system, with focal points of small town police departments. Boring stuff, I know, but I was just hoping to get an outsider's perspective."

"Is this for another class?" She asked me. I shook my head.

"No, ma'am, I'm entering a contest to see if my paper would be selected to be printed in the San Francisco Chronicle. Just to add some brownie points to my scholarship applications when the time comes."

"Well I'm sure you don't necessarily need to, June. Your academics are superb. Your writing in my class alone is exceptional. Nonetheless, I would be glad to look over your paper," I smiled when she took the folder from my hands.

"Thank you so much!" She nodded, and I headed to my seat just as the bell rang.

Several minutes go by into the lesson on idioms, and I started fiddling with my thumbs.

"Idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes," Miss Blake was saying, "All tools the writer uses to tell their story." She stopped at my desk, but was looking over at Lydia, who was sitting next to me doodling a picture of a tree.

"Lydia," Miss Blake said, "I wasn't aware you had so many hidden talents."

Without missing a beat, Lydia looked up at her, "You and every guy I've ever dated!"

Miss Blake looked at her with an awkward smile, "That - was an idiom by the way." She moved on, "Idioms are something of a secret to the people who know the language or the culture. They're phrases that only make sense if you know key words. Saying 'jump the gun' is only meaningful if you know about the starting gun in a race. Or a phrase like, 'seeing the whole board,'"

"In chess," Stiles said aloud. Miss Blake turned to him.

"That's right Stiles, do you play?"

He looked up at her, "No, my father does,"

She nodded and moved along, continuing on her lecture. Scott, who was sitting in front of me turned around and motioned for me to lean in to what he was going to say to Stiles.

"I think we can get to Ethan. I'm pretty sure I can make him talk," Scott told Stiles.

"What do you wanna do that for?" I asked him.

"The druids are emissaries, right?" I had to process this new information, vaguely remembering reading somewhere about how some druids acted as advisors to werewolves and their packs. Stiles nodded for him to continue. "So what if the darach was an emissary to the alphas?"

"Okay first of all I can't believe that we've gotten to the point where a sentence like 'What if the darach was an emissary to the alphas?' actually makes sense to me. And second of all, we're going to have a huge problem getting to Ethan."

"What's that?" Scott asked.

"Aiden," I offered. Stiles looked over at me.

"How do you know that?"

"What do you mean? They're murderous werewolves that literally go to my school, you think I wouldn't pay any attention when I stopped helping you?"

Stiles nodded his head, figuring that it made sense. He turned back to Scott, "Anyways, ever since Aiden's been back at school, they're always together, okay how are we going to separate them?"

Collectively, our eyes widened in realization, and all three of us turned in our seats to face Lydia. Sensing that people were staring at her, she looked up at us. Pursing her lips, she uttered, "What now?"

* * *

We had pulled Ethan aside into an empty hallway, and told him we wanted to talk.

"Why are you even talking to me?" He asked, "I helped kill your friend." All the while he kept glancing over at Stiles. He then asked, "How do you know I'm not gonna kill another one?"

Stiles angrily replied, "Is he looking at me? Are you threatening me?" He started raising his voice, and began motioning with his hands some very rude gestures.

"You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna break off an extra large branch of mountain ash, wrap it in wolfsbane, roll it in mistletoe and shove it up your freaking-!"

"Stiles!" I pulled him back by his backpack. "Hakuna your tatas alright? Breathe."

"June, what does that even mean?"

"Look, we're talking to you because I know you didn't want to kill Boyd," Scott spoke over the both of us. "And I think that if something like that happened now, you wouldn't do it again."

"You don't know what we owe them, especially Deucalion." Ethan argued. "We weren't like Kali and Ennis when we met him. We weren't alphas."

"What were you?" Scott asked.

"Omegas. In actual wolf packs, omegas are the scapegoat. Last to eat, the one who has to take the abuse from the rest of the pack."

"So you and your brother were like the bitches of the pack," Stiles commented, still trying to get back at Ethan for threatening him. Ethan glanced over at him briefly.

"Something like that."

"What happened?" I asked him.

"They were killers. I mean, people talk about us as monsters. But they were the ones who gave us the reputation. And our alpha was the worst of them."

"Why didn't you guys just fight back?" Stiles asked, "Form, Voltron wolf, you know? Kick everyone's asses."

"We couldn't!" Ethan explained, "We didn't know how to control it back then."

"Deucalion taught you," I stated.

"And we fought. We took down the whole pack, one by one. And by the time we got to our alpha, he was begging for his life! And we tore him apart," In some twisted way, it seemed like Ethan was fond of that memory.

"What about your emissary?" Scott asked. Ethan looked down, that being his answer. "They're all dead? Kali and Ennis's too?"

"All of them except for Deucalion's." Ethan answered.

"You mean Morrell?" Stiles asked. Very suddenly, Ethan gasped, and looked down at his stomach.

"What is it? Are you hurt?" Scott asked.

"Not me," Ethan replied, "My brother."

"Lydia," I said, then made a dash for the coach's office, the three boys following right behind me. I slammed the door open to find Aiden holding up a large weight from the bench, ready to hit an already knocked down Cora.

"Aiden! You can't do this!" Ethan yelled. I dove for Lydia and Cora as Scott and Ethan handled Aiden.

"She came at me!" Aiden argued.

"It doesn't matter. Kali gave Derek 'til the next full moon. You can't touch him or her!" With that said, Aiden gave Lydia one last fleeting glance before he let Ethan drag him out of the room.

"Hey guys, I think she's pretty hurt," Stiles said, looking at the nearly unconscious girl on the floor. I quickly ran to go get her some damp paper towels, and when I came back, Stiles and Scott were helping her stand up.

Cora gratefully took the paper towels from my hands, and headed to the sinks with mirrors above them. We all stood around and watched her dab at the blood on her head.

"You okay?" Scott tried.

"She doesn't look okay," Lydia commented.

"I'll heal," Cora muttered. She leaned away from the sinks and nearly keeled over, had Stiles not lunged out to grab her. She waved him off, "I said, I'm fine."

"Do you realize that how crazy that was? What were you thinking?" I asked her. She glared at me like it was obvious.

"I did it for Boyd! None of you were doing anything!"

"We're trying," Scott argued.

"And you're failing," Cora responded. "You're just a bunch of stupid teenagers. Running around, thinking you can stop people from getting killed. All you do is show up late. All you really do, is find the bodies."

"That was way harsh, Tai," I quoted, thinking that Alicia Silverstone's words could not be more fitting. Cora then walked out of the room.

We all were left looking at each other, wondering what our next move would be.

"She's definitely a Hale," Stiles commented. "I'll make sure she gets home okay." With that, he left the three of us.

"I'm going to go talk to Morrell. See if she possibly knows anything about the darach being an emissary," Scott said, and left Lydia and I in the locker room.

"You okay, Lyds?"

She looked over at me, tears in her eyes. "She's right. We just keep finding the bodies. What if we really can't save anybody? I mean - I've literally been of no use, and can only seem to scream my head off when things happen-"

"Hey," I said and I wrapped Lydia up in a hug. She squeezed me tight. "Lydia, you're not useless, okay? You're the smartest person I know, well, besides me," she giggled. "And you have been crucial to this whole thing. Okay? You were the one who figured out how to save Boyd from drowning with the flare, you figured out that it was a somatoformic issue with Scott when we thought Derek was dead, and you also were the one who reassured all of us that the one committing these murders was something else entirely. Lydia, you've been putting us all on the right track with what you know!"

"But I don't even know who the darach is, it's been weeks."

"Lydia, if we always think like that, we'd constantly be setting ourselves up for disappointment. We have to take what we know, and push forward, okay?"

"Thanks, June. And again, I'm sorry."

I scrunched my eyebrows, "What are you sorry for?"

"For calling you selfish. You were right about the whole, intent versus impact thing. I didn't mean for it to sound that bad, but regardless, it came out that way. I don't know all that has happened to you, and didn't stop to think that what I say might open old wounds. For that, I'm sorry."

"Sometimes, Lydia, I find it best to just move on. Thank you for the apology, I kind of needed it."

"So, are things okay between you and Stiles now?"

"I guess so, I mean I basically told him my whole life's story. It's up to him what he does with the information now."

"Did he at least apologize?"

I thought about our conversation last night, and wracked my brain for any memory of an apology. "I think he was going to, but I think Scott called right before he could."

Lydia shook her head exasperatedly, "Boys are so helpless."

I linked my arm through hers, leading her outside the locker room, "You are preaching to the choir here, sister."

When we were out in the hallway, I noticed it was empty. Not really wanting to have to explain to my next teacher why we were late, I figured I would ask Lydia if she wanted to go get some coffee together. I looked over to her and stopped mid thought. She had the most peculiar look on her face, and slowly started walking down the hallway.

"Lydia?" I called out to her, but she ignored me. I decided to follow her, hoping that she wouldn't lead us to another dead body. She stopped outside of a random classroom, and bent down to pick up a piece of chalk.

"Lydia," I tried again as she walked into the empty classroom. When I walked in there, I saw on the chalkboard a bunch of circles overlapping each other, like someone went ham on drawing Venn diagrams.

Lydia walked up to the board in her trance-like state, and lifted the piece of chalk to the board, writing a number two on the circle that was on the bottom right. As soon as she finished writing the number, she screamed. It was so loud, that I doubled over, clutching my ears in an attempt to block out some of the sound.

Aiden was the first on the scene. He burst through the classroom to see me holding onto a shaking Lydia, who kept muttering over and over again that someone else had been taken. Miss Blake was next to enter the room, and then two campus police officers came in with another teacher.

Lydia began to explain to them that she thought that the murderer had taken yet another teacher. As she was doing this, I noticed that students were semi-gathered outside of the classroom.

"I don't get why no one is calling the police," She said to Miss Blake.

"They're going to make an announcement over the PA," Miss Blake assured her.

"That's not going to do anything!" Lydia yelled in frustration. "I told you, he's gone! Like the others, taken." I looked over to see Scott push his way to the front of the group of kids at the doorway. We made eye contact, him asking me what had happened, and me telling him I had no clue, all with a few looks.

"Okay, look, we're just trying to understand. Okay, all we know is that Mr. Westover didn't show up for class," Ms. Blake tried to reason.

"No," Lydia said. "The last time that happened was Mr. Harris. Anyone heard from him, lately?"

"Lydia, sarcasm isn't going to get you anywhere," I whispered in her ear.

"Look, he's gone," she turned around to the chalkboard, pointing at the number in the circle, "And he's going to be the second murder."

"Lydia, you wrote that number," Miss Blake stated.

"Okay fine. I'm psychic," she stated.

"You're psychic?" Miss Blake asked disbelievingly.

"I'm SOMETHING!" Lydia cried out frustratedly.

They eventually got everybody cleared out of the classroom and hallway. School had ended, and I met up with Scott after making sure Lydia went home. Scott looked incredibly worried.

"Allison called me, she found out the next targets."

"Well that's great, what are they?" Scott started fidgeting with his hands.

"Scott, what are they?" I asked, slightly more anxious to hear what he had to say.

"Philosophers... and guardians." My world came spinning to a stop. _Ginny_.

"Guardians?" I repeated, my breathing becoming more shallow. Scott nodded looking worriedly at me.

"June? June are you okay?" Scott asked me, and put his hand on my shoulder. I swallowed, and looked up at him.

"Yes, I'm fine. The deputy would explain the guardians bit, and the teacher would explain the philosopher part. Maybe the darach is moving doubly fast here, whoever they are could be running out of time."

"June-"

"If the darach killed the police officer, maybe they're taking law enforcement as guardians. Has anyone told Stiles to warn his dad?" I was thinking out loud so that my mind wouldn't be consumed with its own fear.

Scott nodded, "Yeah, Allison called him first. He's with the Sheriff right now, explaining everything?"

" _Everything,_ everything?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Okay, that's good, it'll prepare him for what's to come. Just to be sure, I'm going to call Ginny, and let her know that she's a potential target. She can do what she needs from there."

"Okay, what else?" Scott asked me.

"If the darach really is moving double time, that means that philosophers are potential targets as well. I'm volunteering to help at the recital tonight, so I can keep an eye on all of the teachers that are going to be here tonight."

"You're not going to go home to Ginny?" Scott asked me.

I shook my head, "If you can, I'm going to need you to do it. Just head over to my house, and make sure she has what she needs. She might even give you some things we could use too. I made a promise that I would stay here and help with the recital. We need eyes here, anyways." Scott nodded and started making his way down the hall to the exit.

"Scott!" I yelled, and he stopped. I jogged to catch up with him.

"Scott, if I'm right, and the darach is doubling up on sacrifices because they're running out of time, we need to be extra careful."

He nodded, "I know,"

"No, Scott. I mean, if they're really as rushed as we think, the darach might do something extra rash, and totally unexpected. That's why we need to consider all the options that fit under the umbrella category of philosophers and guardians."

He stopped to think, "So philosophers might not necessarily mean teachers?"

"I'm just saying we should consider all of our options, okay? But for now, we'll stick with teachers and law enforcement. Also," I started digging through my bag, pulling out a flask of white powder.

"What's this?"

"It's mistletoe, get it to Ginny. If she throws that in the face of any magical creature, it might buy her an extra couple of seconds."

Scott put the flask in his backpack, "I'm not going to let anything happen to her, okay June?"

I drew my lips in a tight line and nodded. "I know that. Now go, I'll call her and tell her to expect you." With that said I turned and walked down the hallway towards Miss Blake's classroom, whipping out my phone and dialing Ginny in the process.

"June? Everything alright? I thought you were volunteering tonight."

"Ginny, I need you to listen to me closely. I got involved again and we found something else out."

"What is it?"

"We know that the darach is going after philosophers and guardians next. Here's the kicker, we have reason to believe that whoever the darach is, they are sacrificing people at twice the rate now. Just today we found a deputy dead and a teacher was taken."

"Are you telling me this because you think I'm a target?" Ginny asked me.

"Ginny, Guardian is literally your job title. You're a perfect candidate. I need you to start brewing potions, get mountain ash surrounding the house, do whatever you have to do to protect yourself.

"And what about you, June? What are you going to do?"

"Someone really smart once told me that if I made a promise, I had to do everything in my ability, witch or not, to follow through on it." I could almost hear Ginny smiling over the phone. "Am I doing the right thing here? Should I just come home, and forget all of this volunteer crap?"

"June Child, you're doing more than enough by being there. I'm very proud of you for placing others before your own concerns."

"What can I say, I learn from the best," I replied meekly, thinking about how Ginny gave up everything for me.

"While I appreciate the sentiment, June, I need to ask you to do one thing for me."

"What's that?"

"Don't put their lives over your own. Regardless of the fact that I am a potential target for a dark druid, I need to make sure that you are safe. I need you June, stay alive."

"I'm doing my best," I said softly. I was about to reach Miss Blake's room. "Listen, I'm about to help Miss Blake set up for the recital, but I just wanted you to know that Scott is on his way over with some powdered mistletoe. He's also going to make sure that you're okay."

"I'll be okay as long as you are," Ginny replied to me.

"I love you, Gin."

"I love you more, June." I swiftly hung up the phone, and tucked it into my backpack. Walking into the classroom, I saw Miss Blake loading pamphlets into a box.

"Oh good, you're here. Just set your backpack down and we can head to the auditorium. The new music teacher has some of the band kids already helping out with the moving of the heavy stuff, we just have to get to decorating! There's a whole other box of pamphlets on the desk if you want to take those down."

Several hours in and I had helped Miss Blake and the others hang up posters inside and outside of the auditorium. We strung up lights in the hallways and put fake candles on the ground leading to the auditorium. It was really coming together nicely, and it was going to be a beautiful recital. At least, it was if no one was going to be ritually sacrificed.

"June, I think the last of the candles are in my classroom, would you mind grabbing them really quick?" Miss Blake had asked after emerging from the bathroom wearing new clothes for the recital. People were about to start showing up any minute, and it was her job to greet them all outside. I nodded at her question and walked down the dark hallways of the school.

When I had arrived at her room, I started looking around for the box of candles that she had been talking about. I walked over to a cart usually holding a projector to see if it was there when I felt a sharp prick on my neck.

My hand flew up to my neck, and I looked behind me, only to see Miss Blake holding a syringe.

My eyes widened, "Miss Blake, what-"

"Mistletoe. A curious plant." I began to have trouble standing as waves of dizziness overcame me. "Harmless to humans, but poisonous to most other creatures. Things like dogs," She said slowly, and I tried to take a step forward, but could hardly even move my legs. "Werewolves, and others that go bump in the night. But it's different for witches," My drugged gaze looked up at her in surprise. "It acts as a sedative, and if given _just enough_ , it can inhibit a witch's magic for a period of time."

"You," I slurred, "it's you. You're the - the-"

"Yes, June." Miss Blake's face morphed into the slashed up face of my nightmares, "Me."

Too weak to even scream, I collapsed to the floor, and let the looming darkness overwhelm me.


	13. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Prepared to Die First**

Stiles was not having any luck convincing his father of the supernatural's existence. Following the events of Cora's collapse, he trailed after his dad in the hospital.

"What did you see, that night at the bank, when Scott was trying to save Deaton?" Stiles tried. It was one of his many attempts to convince the sheriff that not everything was what it seemed.

The sheriff was losing his last shred of patience as his son kept talking. "Nothing." He replied, walking down the hallway.

"Dad, you saw him healing himself, after he tried crossing the mountain ash," Stiles argued, and the sheriff wasn't having any of it.

"I don't know what I saw."

"You saw something that you can't explain!"

"Stiles," the sheriff whirled around to face his son. "I have seen a lot of things I _can't explain_ in this town. That doesn't make them supernatural, and that doesn't make them real! They just found another body, that's real. And that's the lead I'm following." He started to turn around and head for the hospital doors.

Stiles shook his head fervently, "Dad, another teacher's going to die if you don't start _listening to me!"_

"I AM LISTENING, I HAVE _BEEN LISTENING!_ " Stiles' father yelled. He was reaching a breaking point with his son. The murders going on in the town, half of the state and the FBI breathing down his neck, the last thing John Stilinski needed was his son to be telling him things that were not real, and didn't help him in any way.

"You just don't believe," Stiles said in a small voice. The sheriff, without another word, walked to the doors once more.

He froze when he heard the words, "Mom would've believed me," uttered behind him.

Stiles walked away from his dad into the hallways of the busy hospital. He sat down in a chair outside of Cora's room when he got a call from Scott.

Scott had just finished up making sure that Ginny Child was as safe as could be inside her home when he got the call. Allison and Isaac had found the body of Mr. Westover, confirming that philosophers were indeed a target. Scott called Stiles to tell him the news.

"Scott?"

"It's philosophers, as in teachers. Allison and her father just found Mr. Westover," Scott told Stiles over the phone.

"That makes sense. Tara, she wasn't always a cop, she used to teach middle school."

"Then, the last one's going to be a teacher!"

"Yeah, but there's dozens of them, Scott. And they're all headed home."

Scott stopped in his tracks, "No, no they're not. They're all going to the recital!"

"Isn't June helping out at the recital tonight?" Stiles asked him, suddenly getting up from his seat.

"Yeah, she is. Look, I'm getting on my bike and I'm headed to the school. Call June, and tell her that the darach is there. The darach is there, and he's going to take another teacher."

Stiles was already out the doors of the hospital, and walking briskly to his jeep. "Okay, I'm leaving the hospital now, I'll meet you there."

As soon as he hung up on Scott, he dialed June's number. It kept ringing too long for his liking. "C'mon June, pick up pick up pick up."

He didn't know that June's cell phone was ringing on deaf ears. For June was tied to a chair, unconscious and her mouth taped shut.

"Dammit, June pick up the phone!" When she didn't answer for the seventh straight time, he threw his phone to the passenger's seat in an anxious manner. He shifted gears on his jeep, and pressed further down on the accelerator.

* * *

Scott had arrived to the recital first, and walked into the crowded auditorium. As soon as he was inside, Scott called Stiles to see if June had a plan, only to find that June wasn't answering any calls or texts. He reassured Stiles that she probably couldn't answer due to her helping out somewhere else, but even still, Scott was uneasy.

He looked around to see the twins silently arguing over what looked to be Danny. His gaze then fell on Ms. Morrell talking to parents, thanking them for coming to the recital. He was about to look around more when he saw a person walk up next to him.

"Where's June?" Lydia asked him.

Scott shook his head, "We don't know, she hasn't been answering her phone. I thought you were going home," He asked Lydia. Lydia was still looking around for June.

"I can't." She looked up at him, "I've got a bad feeling about tonight, and June not answering anybody only confirms it. I don't know why I am the one that keeps finding all the bodies, but maybe if I just stop trying to fight it, I'd find them before it happens. I don't want to find anymore dead bodies, Scott. Especially June's." When she mentioned June, Scott's eyes widened, and a determined look settled in his features.

"Maybe not fighting it can give enough time," Lydia continued, "for someone like you to do something about it."

"You give me the time, and I'll do something about it, I swear to god I will." Scott said with so much assurance, Lydia could feel it in her bones. She squeezed Scott's hand with her own as a silent thank you.

"We still need to find June-" Scott said, but was interrupted by the lights dimming.

The show had begun.

* * *

Allison, Chris, and Isaac all pulled up to the school, and before the car could come to a complete stop, Allison and Isaac were sprinting towards the auditorium doors.

* * *

Lydia had received a text message from Aiden, telling her he needed to see her right now. She looked up to find him in the audience, and he turned to look at her nodding. Her phone buzzed again, and it was Aiden once more, saying it was life or death.

"It better be," She muttered, walking outside to go meet up with him.

Just as she left, Scott saw Allison walk in with her father, Isaac trailing behind them. They made awkward eye contact, and Isaac gave a stiff nod. He then followed behind the two hunters to sit down.

* * *

Lydia began walking down the dark hallway, slowly regretting her decision of not telling Scott where she was headed.

* * *

Not even minutes after the Argent's arrival, Stiles slipped through the auditorium doors, and set his eyes on Scott.

"Any sign of her?" Stiles asked him, and his shoulders sagged when Scott shook his head.

"No, I haven't seen her all night."

"Okay, well this can't just be a coincidence, alright? She's missing for a reason."

"You think the darach knew she knew something?"

"Either that or-"

Scott's eyes widened when he saw Stiles come to a revelation.

"Or what? _Stiles?"_

"Or June's the next sacrifice."

* * *

Lydia walked through a set of doors to a more familiar hallway. At the end of it, one door was propped open. Walking slowly towards it, she heard a familiar chanting grow louder and louder in her ears.

Lydia rounded the doorway, and to her horror, she saw an unconscious girl tied to a chair.

"June?!" Lydia could barely hear herself over the sounds of the chanting, when it all grew quiet.

"You recognize it don't you?" Lydia whirled around to see Jennifer Blake lift a strip of plywood behind her head, only for her to swing down and bash Lydia on the head with it.

* * *

"How could June be a sacrifice? I thought the darach was going after teachers?"

"The category's philosophers, Scott, not only teachers."

"Okay but how do you figure that June's the next sacrifice?"

"Are you kidding me? June Child might be the only person at this school smarter than Lydia! I literally heard her talking to Miss Blake about how back in New York she used to examine the Gutenberg Bibles and translate them for fun!"

"Okay, so she's really smart, how does she apply to the category of philosophers if the darach has only been going after teachers?"

"When June was explaining to me how she was cast out, she said that some of her time practicing magic was devoted to researching and recording all of the things her abilities could do. She's a scholar of the supernatural, Scott. Also if he's sacrificing people for power, could you imagine what would happen if the darach were to sacrifice a witch?"

Scott was finally catching on, "The darach could gain more power than with a regular philosopher."

"June's not just missing, Scott."

"She was taken."

{+}

I woke up, feeling like I had woken up from a coma. I groggily opened my eyes to see Lydia across from me, tied to another chair and blood coming from her head. She was already awake, and looking at me.

I tried to ask her what was going on, but my words couldn't pass the tape on my mouth. I started to fidget, only to find that I too was tied to a chair.

"Oh good, you're both awake," My head snapped up to see my English teacher pulling a knife and a garrote out of her bag. I struggled against my bonds, and remembered that I was a witch. I tried to concentrate with all my might, but my focus was still hazy.

"If you're trying to use magic, June, I'm afraid it's no use." I looked to her, frightened, "The dose of mistletoe that I gave you was enough to take away your magic for at least three hours after you woke up." I glared at her, trying to mask the sheer panic I was feeling with anger.

"What are you doing?" I heard Lydia say in a weak voice. Miss Blake, Jennifer, looked over to her.

"What's necessary. I'm still surprised _none_ of you seem to get that. You call them sacrifices, but you're not understanding the word. It's derived from the Latin, _sacrificium_ , an offering to a deity, a sacred right, a necessary evil."

"Stop," Lydia whispered.

"Oh, I wish I could, but you don't know the alphas like I do."

"Please stop," Lydia sniffled.

"But you Lydia," Jennifer started circling her chair to get behind her with the garrote. "You're not a sacrifice. You're just a girl who knows too much." I started writhing in my chair, desperately trying to break free. I started screaming, even though the tape on my mouth muffled the sound considerably.

"Actually," this woman had the audacity to laugh, "a girl who _knew_ too much."

She went to put the garrote around Lydia's neck when suddenly the rope in question flew out of her hands and onto the floor. Jennifer and Lydia both looked wildly at me.

"That's not possible," Jennifer thought aloud. "The mistletoe was exact, you won't have any magical abilities for hours, I don't-" She paused and I glared up at her smiling face.

"You cast a protection spell over Lydia." She walked over to me and ripped the tape off of my mouth. I hissed in pain.

"When did you do it?" She asked me. I smirked up at her and she slapped me across the cheek, "WHEN?"

"The day after the motel, when everybody was climbing onto the bus."

"Was it just Lydia, or everyone else?"

"It was just Lydia and Allison, I was too angry with everyone else," I began to berate myself for letting my feelings get the better of me.

"So if you cast it correctly, Lydia is safe from me?"

"You can't touch her," I stated simply, relieved that my planning ahead was so far working well in my friends' favor.

"Not until you die," I knew she would come to that conclusion, I was just really hoping she wouldn't. But I was ready.

I knew that I couldn't keep Ginny's promise. I couldn't put my life over my friends' lives. If me dying bought Lydia more time to escape, then I was all for it.

"Well, you were my next sacrifice," Jennifer sighed, "We'll just have to do things a little out of order."

She grabbed the garrote off the floor, wrapping it around her hand. I kept eye contact with her the whole time, until I saw Lydia struggling against the ties keeping her in her chair.

"Scott's going to come for you, alright Lydia?" I said as calmly as I possibly could. "Lydia, you're going to make it, okay? You're going to-" I was cut off because Jennifer quite literally took my breath away. The cord was thin, and it would have bothered me how it dug slightly into my skin had it not also been suffocating me at the same time.

I couldn't believe this was how I was going to die, a freaking sacrifice. After everything that happened, I never got to see this through to the end. I never got to prove my family and my former coven wrong. I never got to tell Stiles that I forgive him, even though he never said sorry.

My vision was blurring to black when I heard Lydia scream so loudly, it felt like it shook my eardrums. I slowly started feeling liquid drip out of them, and I knew that it was blood. Jennifer, in shock released the garrote from my neck, and I began coughing violently, wheezing every time I inhaled.

"Unbelievable," she muttered, "You have no idea what you are, do you?" Both Lydia and I looked up at her slowly.

"The wailing woman, a banshee, right before my eyes," My gaze snapped to Lydia. A banshee? "You're just like me, Lydia. Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it." Lydia was sobbing. "It's too bad, though," Miss Blake said, mostly to herself, "And too late." She grabbed the duct tape from on top of the desk, and ripped a piece off, taping it promptly to Lydia's mouth.

Lydia started moving furiously against the tape on her wrists, screaming and yelling through the gag on her mouth. I looked at her with tears in my eyes, and felt the garrote slip it's way around my neck.

I began suffocating for the second time that night. Over all of the noises escaping my throat, I vaguely heart Jennifer whisper, "One last sacrifice."

"DROP IT!" I heard Sheriff Stilinski yell from behind me. Miss Blake spun around, knocking my chair to the ground hard enough to break parts of it. From my upside down vantage point I could see the knife that Jennifer was about to use to kill me zoom across the room and lodge itself into the sheriff's shoulder. Falling to the ground, Stilinski dropped his gun.

A part of the chair I was tied to that had broken was one of the arms. I wrenched it off of the chair entirely, and used it to untie my other hand. Once that one was free, I worked to pull the tape off of my other hand, and separate myself from the now broken chair.

As I was doing that, I heard above me Scott's roar. Pausing my escape to look, I could see him entirely wolfed out, glaring menacingly at Jennifer. I looked over at the sheriff, who had utter disbelief on his face when Scott made brief eye contact with him. I unattached myself from the last bits of chair just as Scott charged our English teacher. He leapt over the desk and swiped his claws at her. She dodged and countered with incredible efficiency, using a pulse of pure energy to send Scott flying into a pile of stacked desks. When he landed, he started spitting up blood.

"Scott!" I exclaimed. Well, it wasn't much of an exclamation. Having just been strangled twice, the loudest sound my voice could let out was a raspy squeak. It was still loud enough for the darach to hear it. She turned towards me as we heard the sound of sneakers stop outside the door.

Looking over, I made eye contact with Stiles. As he was about to head inside, Jennifer magically slid a desk over to the door, slamming it shut and locking us all inside. Stiles started banging on the door the same time that the sheriff picked up his gun, pointing it directly at Jennifer.

"There was a girl, years ago. We found her in the woods," Miss Blake faltered in her walk towards him for the briefest moment, "Her face and body slashed apart. That was you, wasn't it?"

"Maybe I should have started with philosophers, with knowledge and strategy," Jennifer said smugly. She walked towards the sheriff, and he shot her in the leg. She stopped briefly, then began advancing to him again. It didn't take a philosopher to know that she had magically healed the wound.

"Healers," She lunged for him, pulling him to his feet by the knife currently sitting in his chest.

"Don't touch him!" I squeaked, running forward. When Jennifer turned to look at me, I suddenly remembered my lack of magic.

"Oh, June. Don't worry, sweetie. I'll come back for you. When the storm starts in the earth's shadow, your time will come." Before I could even begin to wonder what that meant, she grabbed me by the shoulders, and sent me flying across the classroom. My back and head hit flat against the chalkboard, and I collapsed to the floor.

"JUNE!" I heart Stiles yell, as well as Lydia's muffled cries. The air had been effectively knocked out of my lungs, and I struggled to lift my head. I opened my eyes to see Jennifer transform into her real self, the creature whose face was mangled and clawed. She dragged the sheriff over to the window, breaking it, then disappearing with Stiles' dad.

As if the universe was playing a cruel joke, it was in that moment that Stiles opened the door and crawled over the desk acting as a barricade. He ran to the window, seeing only Scott in the room, and hopelessly shouted, "Dad?"

I had managed to get myself on all fours without falling down, and I started crawling over to Lydia. I reached up with shaking hands, unwrapping the tape.

The sound of the tape coming undone seemed to snap Scott and Stiles out of their reverie. Scott turned back into his human form, and rushed over to help Lydia escape her bonds quicker. Meanwhile Stiles pulled me up, and held me by the waist with one hand, his other hand stroking my face over and over again. He was talking to me, I know he was, but my ears were ringing, my thoughts were jumbled, and my breathing hoarse and shallow.

"June!" Stiles gently shook my shoulder, and my gaze snapped to him. I took him in, all the moles on his face, how pink his lips were, how his nose curved up in a sprightly way, and especially how is brown eyes were showing nothing but concern for me. Looking at him, I felt unexplainably safe.

I burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," The fact that I could barely talk made my blubbering sound squeaky and pathetic.

"June, why are you _sorry_?" Stiles asked me.

"I couldn't save him. I couldn't - my magic -" Stiles brought me into an embrace when I started sobbing horribly.

"It's okay, June, it's okay," Stiles was trembling almost as much as I was.

"June?" I heard Lydia. I left Stiles' warm hold, and looked over to Lydia. The first thing I saw was the blood dripping down the side of her head. I looked around the room, and my eyes locked on my bag. I teetered over and opened it, rummaging for the two vials inside.

Grasping the both of them, I handed one to Lydia, and the other to Scott.

"What are these?" Scott asked me.

"Healing potions. I started carrying them around after that time you wouldn't heal on the bus," I looked over to Stiles, remembering how he asked me if I could heal them, and I sarcastically said I carry these around. "Ever since that day, I figured having them around might come in handy."

"June, I'll heal," Scott said. "You should take it, you've been through the ringer."

"Taking that isn't going to get the mistletoe out of my system. If I drink it, I'm healed, but I'm useless. We need you at full strength much sooner. The fight's not over."

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked me.

"Derek was seeing Jennifer, so we need to go over to his place and warn him about her. After that, we're going to find your dad."


	14. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Empty Hospitals**

"You're sure? Okay, okay, look: Scott, Stiles and I are headed to Derek's right now to warn him about Jennifer being the darach. Stay at the school, make sure that everything's been taken care of. I'll call you when we figure some things out." My voice being as hoarse as it was, I wasn't sure if Allison could understand me that well over the phone. I was currently sitting in Stiles' backseat, and the guy in question was moving heaven and earth to get to Derek's loft.

" _Okay. Be careful, June._ "

I hung up the phone. "That was Allison, she said that while we were fighting Jennifer off, the pianist at the concert got her throat cut. There was mistletoe in the blood," I explained.

Stiles looked at me through the rearview mirror, "She must have been a backup sacrifice, so now it's just guardians," I looked down when he said sacrifice. I was still slightly trembling from the whole ordeal. I made sure that Scott and Lydia both downed to healing potions, and then we made our way out of the school. Lydia went to go find Aiden in the huge mess that was the auditorium, and Scott, Stiles, and I slipped out unnoticed.

"I texted Ginny, she told me she was fine. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary," I said.

"How are we going to do this, guys?" Scott asked from the passenger's seat.

"I vote we tell him bluntly and that his taste and women is lacking severely," Stiles volunteered, "I mean this is the second mass murderer that Derek has dated."

"The odds of that are pretty high," I agreed.

"I don't know that we should tell him like that," Scott said, a little uneasy about the whole thing.

"How should we tell him then?" I croaked, "Tell me, how does one ease into the topic of their friend dating a dark druid that has sacrificed twelve innocent people, huh? Did we need to stop at the convenience store for some ice cream and shitty romance movies? Scott, this isn't telling someone that their significant other is cheating on them, okay? This is us telling a werewolf that his girlfriend is an evil being who is killing people, and may have poisoned his sister!"

Scott sighed, knowing I was right. "But how do we prove it to him? We're not necessarily buddy-buddy with each other."

I looked to Stiles, "Am I not proof enough?" I gestured to my bruised neck.

"You might be proof enough for us," He assured me, "But people who're like Derek, they have to see to believe."

I thought about it for a minute, "I think I might know how to help with that."

* * *

Ginny was beside herself when she saw my state. She rounded on Scott and Stiles, yelling at them for letting this happen to me. Honestly I had never in my life seen that woman so angry. I completely sympathized with the way the dynamic duo tried to melt into the wall behind them when she stared at them with wild eyes. After a brief explanation, I told them that it wasn't their fault, that they actually saved me, and we had to go.

"Like _hell_ you are going anywhere else, June! After everything that has happened-"

"After everything that's happened, Ginny how could I not help?" I tried to yell over her. "I almost died tonight, Gin. I have to make sure no one else dies now, not if I can help them."

"You can't help, June! You have mistletoe in your system, you're about as useful as-"

"The 'g' in lasagna, I know." I looked her straight in the eye, "But I cannot, and I will not sit around and do _nothing._ If my friends go into danger then so do I."

We made intense eye contact for about twenty seconds, when Ginny blinked away tears, pulling me in for a hug.

"You come home to me, June Child."

"As long as you'll be here when I do."

"Always."

"Alright, well I hate to break up this moment, but we're on a bit of a time crunch," Stiles said. I let go of Ginny, and sighed.

"Right, do you have the mistletoe still?"

Sure enough, Ginny gave me the mistletoe, and the three of us ran outside back to Stiles' jeep. Or at least, Scott and I did. Stiles kept running.

"Stiles, have you somehow gone blind in the last ten seconds? Your jeep's right here!" I tried as he ran to his house.

"I know, I'm just grabbing something real quick." Half a minute later, Stiles stumbled out of his front door brandishing a wooden bat. He came back over to his jeep, and threw it in the trunk. We all piled in, and made our way over to Derek's.

When we pulled up to Derek's loft, the wind was raging against us. I had to spit some hair out of my mouth, and in the distance I could hear thunder rumbling. It was a perfectly ominous setting for what we were about to do. I clutched the mistletoe tighter in my hands as we made it to the lobby.

Derek let us in no problem. We rushed into the loft, and I stumbled a bit.

Stiles looked back at me, "Whoa, June you good?" He came back over to me.

I nodded, "I guess all this running around is kinda tiring me out a bit."

"If you need to go to the hospital, just let me know," Stiles took my hand and squeezed it. I smiled up at him.

"You know for someone who doesn't have the ability to magically transfer comforting emotions, you're doing a pretty phenomenal job." His grinned at me.

"What's this about, Scott?" Derek questioned.

"We figured out who the darach is," Scott cut to the chase. Derek looked at him to go on.

When he didn't, Derek asked, "Well are you going to tell me?"

Scott paused, and I rolled my eyes, "Jennifer Blake." I rasped. Derek raised an eyebrow.

"No it's not."

"What - yes, it is. Derek, she literally just tried to kill June like an hour ago. Correction, she tried to _ritually sacrifice_ June." Stiles rebutted, still squeezing my hand. " _Then_ she took my dad."

"But why?"

"Who cares why, Derek?" I said, "She's killing innocent people. She kidnapped Stiles' father, _and_ we can prove all of this."

Derek crossed his arms, "How can you prove all of this?"

I lifted the mistletoe up to show him, "With this. I'll bet you anything that Jennifer will be here soon trying to persuade you not to listen to us. We can use this against her." Derek didn't seem to want to listen, "Derek, your sister might be dying! You might not want to hear the truth because it involves your girlfriend or whatever, but you owe it to Cora to do what you can to save her." Derek looked into my eyes, and was about to reply when the alarm for his loft went off.

He gestured with his head for Scott, Stiles, and I to go hide. Not letting go of my hand, Stiles rounded the corner, and we listened.

"Derek?! Derek, where are you?" I started shaking when I heard her voice again. Stiles looked to me, and squeezed my hand tighter.

"Right here," We heard Derek say.

"Oh thank God," there was a slight pause, "Something happened, at the recital. At the school. Okay, I need to tell you before you hear it - before you hear _any_ of it from them."

"From who?"

"Scott, Stiles, June." I tightened my grip on Stiles' clammy hand. "They're going to tell you things, things you can't believe. You have to trust me okay? _You trust me._ "

"What is it?" Derek's tone was so casual, I mentally applauded him for his acting skills.

" _Promise_ you'll listen to me," Jennifer said.

"I promise."

I guess that Derek's acting wasn't as good as I thought, because the next thing I heard was Jennifer say suspiciously, "They're already here, aren't they?" The three of us rounded the corner.

Jennifer's eyes looked at Scott, then flitted over to me and my neck.

"So," she started, "they told you it was me? That I'm the one taking people?"

"We told him you were the one _killing_ people," I corrected.

"Oh, that's right," she said in a mocking tone, "Committing human sacrifices, what - cutting their throats? Yeah, I probably do it on my lunch hour, that way I can get back to teaching high school English the rest of the day. That makes perfect sense," she let out a disbelieving laugh.

"I'm going to want my paper back, asshole," I muttered.

"Where's my dad?" I looked over to see that Stiles had shed a tear. I moved a fraction closer to him, and our arms were now brushing up against each other.

"How should I know?" Jennifer turned to look at Derek.

"Derek," she said desperately, "tell me you don't believe this?"

But Derek had a stoic look on his face, "Do you know what happened to Stiles' father?"

"No!"

"Ask her why she almost killed June," Scott said angrily.

"And Lydia," I added.

"Lydia Martin? I don't know anything about that!"

"Then what do you know?" Derek asked her.

"I know, that these kids for _whatever_ misguided reason, are filling your head with an absurd story." Jennifer turned back to us, "One that they can't prove by the way!"

I held up the flask, "What if we can?" I asked.

"What is that," Miss Blake asked quietly.

I handed the bottle over to Scott, and he started unscrewing the lid, "June here tells me that it's a poison and a cure," the levelness of his tone sent chills up my arms, "Which means you can use it, and it can be used against you."

"Mistletoe?" Jennifer asked, and before much else could happen, Scott threw the powder into her face. I looked on in horror to see the darach's true form make an appearance in between all the shouts coming from her. She finally recomposed herself, and tried to make a break for it. Before she could even move two steps, Derek had her by the neck.

"Derek, wait!" I yelled. Well, not really a yell per say, but I spoke as loudly as I could.

"Wait, wait!" Jennifer said as Derek's claws came out, "You need me!"

"What are you?" Derek growled.

"The only person who can save your sister. Call Peter," she choked out.

With no one, moving, she grew more desperate, "CALL HIM!"

Derek did as she said, and listened to what Peter had to say about Cora. His face gave nothing away, but he did speak out 'mistletoe' at the end of the call. He hung up the phone, and squeezed Jennifer's throat tighter.

"Derek, Derek what are you doing?" Scott said.

"Her life! It's in my hands!" She struggled. Not liking the sound of that, Derek lifted her off of the ground.

"Stop - Derek, _stop_!" Stiles said. Jennifer looked over at him, and I made my way to stand in front of him in a protective manner.

"Stilinski, you'll never find him," I froze entirely, and I could hear the sharp intake of Stiles' breath. We watched her struggle more and more, with no sign of Derek letting up.

"Derek," I spoke firmly. He ignored me.

" _Derek_!" Scott yelled. He finally relented, and dropped Jennifer to the ground. She slowly looked up, her demeanor too triumphant for my liking.

"That's right, you need me." She looked over at us, "All of you."

"Get up," Derek snarled, "We're going to the hospital."

* * *

We followed behind Derek and Jennifer in Stiles' jeep, rain pouring down furiously. I had an uneasy feeling in my gut, and I guess I wasn't the only one.

"I don't know - just - something feels wrong about this," Stiles voiced. "We proved it to Derek, but she had this... this look like it didn't matter. You know, like it was all still going according to plan. You saw it didn't you?" He looked at Scott.

"I saw it," I input while Scott nodded.

I texted Allison that we were going to the hospital if she needed to tell us anything. When we pulled up to Beacon Memorial, I was incredibly thankful that I had decided to wear my rain boots. Scott let me out on his side as Stiles rounded the jeep to his trunk. We all made our way inside, and I heard Scott ask what was with the bat.

"What, you've got claws, I've got a bat. Besides, it'll help June too since her magic's still not working." We walked through the doors, each one of us soaked to the core. All the hospital staff seemed too busy evacuating to really care that a herd of people breezed by the front desk. The only person who did notice was Melissa McCall, who was calling out for her son.

"What are you doing here? The hospital's evacuating," She said.

"We're here for Cora," Scott explained.

"All of you?" her eyes landed on me, "Oh my god. Sweetheart, what happened to your neck? And why does Stiles have my bat?"

"Long story," I glared at Jennifer.

"Mom, just trust me on this," Scott told her. "You need to get out of here. Right now."

She looked at us uneasily, "The building is supposed to be clear in thirty minutes. We've got two ambulances that are coming back. One's ten minutes out and the other's twenty. Make sure Cora is on one of those ambulances. They'll be picking up in the basement garage." Scott nodded, and ushered all of us to the elevators.

Derek had Jennifer by the arm, and the two of them lead the way into the elevators. Stiles made sure that even in such a confined space, I wasn't anywhere near Jennifer.

"You don't have to keep me on a leash, Derek. I'm going to help," she said annoyed. She looked around the elevator to see Scott glaring at her. She turned to Stiles and I, and smirked as Stiles moved further in front of me, gripping his bat menacingly.

We got to level two, and noticed how the lights were flickering. Derek came to an abrupt halt outside of what I can only assume is Cora's room. Or, _was_ Cora's room. It was entirely empty. A puddle of black goo and mistletoe the only evidence that Cora was here. The black goo actually seemed to trail out of the room and down the hall.

"Derek," I pointed to the trail that stopped at the double doors. We all heard scuffling on the other side, and I jumped back when we saw a body slam through the doors and slide back. We looked down to see Peter staring up at us.

"We've got a problem," he said, and looked down the hall from where he was just thrown. "Big problem."

Big problem indeed. Out walked the twins, or as Stiles so eloquently put it, Voltron Wolf. Derek without so much as a second thought, charged the monster, and rammed it further down the hallway. Hardly having to put up much of a fight, Ethan and Aiden knocked Derek out of the way. Scott quickly ran after them, dodging their heavy blows. Stiles rushed forward to Peter, and got him up to go and grab Cora while the twins were distracted.

With everyone's back's turned, Jennifer grabbed my arm in a vice grip, and slapped a hand over my mouth. Struggling against her, she dragged me back into the elevator. My hands pulled hers off my mouth.

"Stiles!" I called out in a squeaky voice. I was beginning to grow frustrated with how my voice wasn't at its full capability thanks to the woman who now trapped me in an elevator. However, it was just loud enough for Stiles to hear over all the commotion, for he turned around. Noticing we weren't behind him, his gaze snapped to the elevator and saw me standing with Jennifer. His eyes widened in true fear, and he started running to the doors.

"JUNE!"

He wasn't even close when the elevator doors shut.

Jennifer backed me into a corner, and put one of her hands up over my head.

"The same protection spell over Lydia, do it for me."

"I can't," I snapped. Jennifer practically growled.

"Do it, or Ginny dies next."

My eyes widened, then I stepped forward in anger, "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. It's like you said yourself, dumbass, the mistletoe won't wear off. Not for at least another hour. You kind of screwed yourself over here, Blake."

The darach scowled at me, and the elevator doors opened. "I guess you'll just have to stick with me until your magic-" She stopped, for a blind man and a barefoot woman rounded the corner at the end of the hallway. Now I wasn't one to assume anything, but it didn't take much to guess that this was Kali and the dreaded Deucalion.

Without so much as a witty villainous remark, Deucalion took his walking cane, uncapped the end of it to reveal a sharp dagger, and threw it at Jennifer. It only missed her by inches. I scrambled back into the elevator and Jennifer followed suit. She started slamming on the button to close the doors as Kali started running towards us. As the doors shut, she sent a wave of energy through the doors and out to Kali to send her backwards, and we were back in the elevators again.

"So much for your escape plan," I remarked.

"The night's young, June, you never know," I shouldn't have let her words get to me, but it was eerie what she said.

"What did you mean the storm in the earth's shadow?" I knew it was a long shot that she would even explain, or that her words had any meaning at all. But it just bothered me what she said right before she sent me flying into a wall. We walked off the elevator into an empty hallway. Red X's were marked on every door, and the whole scene was reminiscent of a ghost town.

"You're the genius here, June." I scoffed. "When are we in the earth's shadow?"

Before I could think of an answer, I could hear another familiar voice in the distance. "We don't have her or June either! Okay, she took June again! She could be dead, for all we know! Now she, my father, _and Cora_ are all dead!" Jennifer and I started walking closer to the room they were in. I briefly heard Scott say, "There has to be something we can do to help her."

Dramatically, Jennifer burst through the doors. "You can't. Only I can." I slowly skirted around her, and ran over to a relieved looking Stiles. As soon as I was near enough, he grabbed my arm and started looking for any injuries.

"Did she hurt you?"

"Not this time around," I semi-joked. I looked around, "Where's your bat?"

"In splinters near the other operating room."

"I can save her and I can tell you where Sheriff Stilinski is," Jennifer mentioned, and Stiles and I both looked over to her.

"But there is a pack of alphas in this hospital who want me dead. So I'll help you, but only when I'm out of here safe." The lights flickered out, and the backup generators cast a green, eerie glow over us. "Only then."

Derek threw down a table and charged at her. Scott held him back.

"She was trying to escape!"

"I was trying to keep from getting killed, okay you can't blame me for that!" She snapped.

"Then why'd you take June again?" Derek questioned.

"Last minute token of insurance," She shrugged.

"Look if you want to show that you're one of the good guys then heal her," Stiles pointed to Cora's unconscious body on the table. The druid shook her head.

"Not until I'm safe."

"I'd like to volunteer a different method of persuasion," Peter said, "Let's torture her."

"Yeah I agree with the V-neck over here," I said. Peter looked at me strangely.

"Works for me too," Derek said, and moved Scott aside. He was about to grab Jennifer when the intercom overhead went on.

"Uhm - can I have your attention. Mr. Deucalion - sorry - just Deucalion requests you bring the woman calling herself Jennifer Blake to the ER Reception. Do this, and everyone else can leave. You have ten minutes." Scott's eyes widened in terror at the sound of his mother's scared voice.

The darach had Stiles' dad, and the alphas now had Scott's mom.

I put my head in my hands, "This is a total clusterfuck."


	15. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Breathe**

"He's not gonna hurt her," Jennifer sighed.

"Shut up," Derek snapped.

"He won't," She turned to Scott. "Scott, you know why. Tell them it's true."

Scott looked down and everyone else looked to him.

"What does she mean?" I asked him.

When he didn't answer, Jennifer rolled her eyes and said, "You're not the only one he wants in his pack, Derek. Deucalion doesn't just want an alpha pack, he wants perfection. That means adding the rarest of alphas to his ranks."

"A true alpha," Peter stated.

"No way," I breathed. Stiles looked over to me, then back at Scott.

"True alpha, what is that?" he asked.

"The kind that doesn't have to steal his power from another," I explained. "One that can rise from the force of his own will." Scott still wasn't making eye contact with anybody.

"Our little Scott," Pete said in a mocking tone.

"It doesn't matter," Scott shook his head, then looked to Jennifer, "We still need to get her out of here."

"Scott, your mom-" Stiles tried.

" _My mom_ said that there's one more ambulance coming in twenty minutes. And I don't think we've been here that long. So if we can get down to the garage, get to the last ambulance, we can get out of here."

"The twins aren't going to let us just walk out," Peter argued.

"I'll distract them," Scott reasoned.

"You mean fight them," Derek corrected.

"Whatever I have to do."

Derek nodded, "I'll help you."

"Uh - sorry, but I'm not going anywhere without you, Derek," Jennifer said.

"You know you really love throwing a wrench in our plans, lady." I commented.

"I'll do it," Peter volunteered. "But I'd prefer to be out there with an advantage."

"Advantage," Stiles started, "Like what? Like a weapon?"

"Something better than a baseball bat."

"Okay, look people. We're in a hospital room, there's gotta be some kind of enhancement - chemical or other - of a sort." I said as I started shuffling through drawers. Everyone else followed suit.

"Wha - okay, how about these?" I look up to see Stiles holding the paddles of a defibrillator.

"Do you know how to use those?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"Well - no."

"Then put them down," Derek told him.

I saw Scott hold up a gigantic needle, and read the label, "Epinephrine?"

"That's only going to make them stronger," I told him, and I saw Peter turn around.

"How strong?"

"Pretty damn strong," I said catching on, and walked over to Scott, "Here, give me the needle."

I walked over to Peter, holding the giant needle in my hand. "Okay, okay, there's a specific way we have to do this. It's different than an EpiPen, so the injection site might actually be different, let me see, we can't do it in the leg if we want to create maximum effect-"

"Oh for the love of God," Peter interrupted my mumblings, "We're on a time crunch, Sweetheart. Get to the point."

"Okay! Okay, there's over twenty major arteries running through the human body, we just need to find one that'll give him the most strength-"

"JUNE!"

"Jesus, okay!" I yelled as I stabbed him in the chest. I hoped it worked as I injected the liquid into his bloodstream. I dropped my hand and scrambled back, waiting for the drug to take effect. It didn't take long at all as Peter almost drunkenly stumbled outside the hallway, Scott following suit. Derek lifted Cora, and at at the sound of roaring in the hallway, the rest of us left.

We quickly ran to the basement and out into the parking garage.

"It's still here," Stiles said and he ushered everyone to the ambulance in question. I wrenched open the doors of the vehicle and quickly clambered inside, Stiles following suit. Once inside, we helped lift Cora up onto the stretcher placed in the middle of the ambulance. Derek was about to get inside, when Jennifer called him out of sight. I started looking for a towel of some sort to wipe the layer of sweat covering Cora's face in hopes to make her more comfortable.

Out in the distance I heard someone say, "Julia," in a singsong voice. My eyes locked with Stiles, his worried expression no doubt mirroring my own.

"It is you," The voice I recognized as Kali said. Stiles with silent haste got up and shut the doors of the ambulance. He sat back down and leaned as far back from the windows as he could, me matching his actions on the other side of Cora.

I watched as Jennifer and Derek ran by the ambulance, Kali quickly chasing after. After that, everything became very quiet, the only sounds being Stiles and I's heavy breathing. It dawned on me that Stiles and I were the _only_ ones breathing out of the three people in the ambulance.

"Stiles," I said panicked.

"What?"

"Why does it look like Cora's not breathing?"

Stiles leaned his head closer to her still body, listening to see if she was breathing.

"Because she's not," Stiles confirmed. He hitched up the sleeves of his flannel, and shakingly put his hands up to Cora's face. "Okay, okay, what to do what to do...?"

"Stiles," I said urgently, but also calmly. He looked up at me, and I nodded reassuringly at him. "Clear the airway first."

"Right, right," He opened her mouth to see if there was anything lodged in her throat. "Great, I see nothing. Now we just tilt the head, fingers on the chin, uh - pinch - pinch the nose," He looked back up at me, and I nodded at him again to let him know he was doing everything correctly. "Right, just pinch the nose and blow."

He began to blow big puffs of air into her mouth, every time he did Cora's cheeks puffed out. I started clenching and unclenching my hands, silently praying to whoever was out there to bring Cora back.

"C'mon, Cora breathe." Another puff of air, "Breathe." After several more attempts, Stiles and I heard a collective gasp of air come from between us. Simultaneously, Stiles and I leaned back in our seats and sighed out in relief.

"You know, the next time I put my lips to your mouth you better be awake," He said. I smiled at him.

"You did amazingly, Stilinski."

Stiles looked over at me, "Yeah, you're not too bad of a teacher."

I waved my hand, "Pssh, that was nothing."

"It wasn't nothing, you helped me through it. You also were a total badass back there with the Epinephrine."

I laughed, "I really didn't know what I was doing back there, I just wanted an excuse to stab Peter in the chest." Stiles let out a breathy laugh, "I'm serious, that guy's V-neck was the douchiest thing I've ever seen in my life."

We let the silence envelop us, comforted by the fact that there were three out of three people breathing in this vehicle.

"We just have to hold on a little longer, okay?" I heard Stiles say, though it was mostly directed to the unconscious Hale. "Trust me if anybody's gonna get us out of this, it's Scott. I can't believe I just said that." He let out a breath of disbelief.

"You know I actually used to be the one with the plan," I still wasn't sure who he was talking to, so I let him continue. "Well, or at least a plan B. Now I don't know - now I'm thinking that maybe you were right." He glanced over to Cora, "Maybe - maybe we are pretty much useless. Maybe all we really do is show up and find the bodies."

"You can't really think that, Stiles," I said to him. He looked up at me, unshed tears on his waterline.

"I don't want to find my father's body," He admitted. I gave him a sympathetic look.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am for that, Stiles." He looked up at me.

"What are you talking about, June?"

"He was there, you know? He saved my life. I wasn't breathing, about to be ritually sacrificed, and your father saved my life. And how do I repay him? I let him be taken by Jennifer. I should have tried harder, know what I mean? I - I could have figured out it was Jennifer quicker or tried to escape faster, and," I swallowed thickly, "And at least do something _more._ It doesn't take a genius to know that he's all you have, Stiles, and I didn't do enough to - to-"

"June," Stiles grabbed my hands, " _You_ did not take my father. Jennifer did. You were drugged, and tied to a chair, and strangled," I let tears fall from my eyes. "The only thing you did was survive. No one knows what could have happened because what could have happened didn't. I'm not mad at you for not being in his place."

"But he's your dad, and I'm just - I'm just me."

"I'm not going to lie, I'm terrified for him. I'm scared that he might die. But I know, I really know, that we have a chance at finding my dad with you alive and helping. You're not just June, okay? You're June Child, witch, genius, and my friend."

My heart warmed at his words. I sniffled, and wiped my eyes with my hands. I looked over at Cora, "She's a lot easier to talk to when she's not awake," I joked, and Stiles smiled at me.

Before he could make a witty comment, we both heard a rumbling in the distance. Looking out the windows, Stiles and I could see a massive shadow walking in the garage. With the size of the shadow and the monstrous footfall, it didn't take much to guess that it was in fact the twins.

My breathing picked up again, and I looked over to Stiles. He leaned back as far as the bench of the ambulance allowed, and I did the same thing on my side. Heart hammering, I slapped a shaking hand over my mouth to try and quiet my breathing. It gave me slight comfort, even though deep down I knew they could just listen for my heartbeat if they wanted to find me.

We heard them walk away back into the hospital, and I lowered my hand. "What are we waiting for, here?" I asked Stiles.

"Derek and Jennifer, they need to get back out here and we need to get the keys to this thing. Then we can get out of here."

"I texted Allison a while back," I said. "If everything at the school is finished up, then she might be on her way over here with her dad an Isaac."

"So what are you saying?"

"We might be able to use them as a way to get Cora out of here," I told him steadily. I was just about to tell him to text Allison or Isaac when Stiles froze, leaning into his side of the ambulance and listening to what was outside. I tuned in too, and I could hear a scuffling sound outside, accompanied by what also sounded like feet dragging on the floor.

Before anyone could do anything else, a hand slapped against the glass of the ambulance window. I jumped back in surprise, but quickly recovered when I saw that it was Scott. He was holding up a weakened Peter.

"Stiles, open the door!" Scott yelled.

"Right, sorry," Stiles fumbled with the door handles.

"Here, help me get him in," Scott asked, as he supported Peter in his climb up into the ambulance. He stumbled over Stiles and into the seat next to him.

"Where's Derek and Jennifer?" I asked Scott.

"I have to go back for them, and my mom," he answered.

"Okay well two problems," Stiles stated, "Kali's got the keys to this thing, and June and I just saw the twins like thirty seconds ago." A crash interrupted the conversation, and we gazed off to the source of the noise.

Scott looked back at us, and it was the first time I noticed the blood trailing down the side of his face. "Stay here," he said, and went to go investigate.

It was a little bit before anybody spoke. Unfortunately, it was the person I wanted to hear the least who spoke up first.

"So... the witch," Peter stated. I looked up from my hands.

"What now?" I asked him.

"Curious that you should be a witch, yet I haven't seen any kind of magic tonight."

"That's what happens when you get injected with mistletoe."

Peter rested his head back on the wall, "Funny, how even things like witches have such simple weaknesses." He shut his eyes.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you and fire." He opened one eye.

"It's also funny how as a witch, I have the ability to control and manipulate fire." I continued, "What's even funnier is how I don't think you understand just how easy it would be for me to send you up in smoke." I said as casually as I would say something about the weather.

Peter looked up at me and smirked. "I like you. Stiles, keep her around a bit longer."

A while passed in silence again. I started absentmindedly tracing the smudged drawing that I made on my wrist days ago.

"Curious drawing you have on your wrist there," Peter remarked.

I looked up at him, "What do you mean?"

"I mean it looks like you've been drawing the same root cellar that Derek and I hid in years ago."

Stiles looked up and over at Peter, "The nemeton?" He grabbed my wrist, looking at the intricate drawing made in sharpie.

"It's not a nemeton, or anything of the sort." I said, snatching my wrist back, "It's just a tree stump. I saw it in a picture," I fibbed.

"That's a lie," Peter said, and I cursed the fact that I forgot werewolves had phenomenal hearing.

"June, where did you see this?" Stiles asked me.

"I saw it in a dream, okay? And just so we're clear, it is definitely not a sacred space of Celtic worship. It's a tree stump, that's it." I was mostly reassuring myself.

"Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart," Peter said in a tone so casual it made me want to follow through on my promise to burn him alive.

"Look-" I was interrupted by Stiles' cell phone. He reached for his phone and read it over, then handed it to me. It was Isaac, saying to have Cora ready to be moved into the car he was going to pull up in. I handed back the phone to Stiles and told Peter to lift her up.

Tires squealed right outside the ambulance, and with that, I threw open the doors.

"Alright, c'mon, c'mon, _c'mon_!" Isaac yelled, and ran around to the backseat of his car to open the door for Peter to put Cora through.

I was about to step down out of the ambulance when Stiles grabbed my hand to stop me. I turned back to him, "What is it?" He pointed at the piece of paper he was reading, more specifically the line where the signature for a parent or guardian would need to sign.

 _Parent or Guardian._

"Melissa," I whispered, only loud enough for Stiles to hear me.

"Stiles, June, let's go!" Isaac beckoned, getting ready to get back in the car. I froze, unsure of what Stiles was going to do next.

Without another word, Stiles turned around and ran back into the hospital. Isaac screamed for him to come back. I started heading to where Stiles was going too, when Isaac called out.

"June, no. We need to leave!"

I turned back around. "I'm going after Stiles. Get Cora and Peter out of here, get Allison and Chris out of here, then go wait for Derek." Isaac hesitated, " _Now!"_ I yelled as loud and with as much conviction as I could muster, then I turned around and ran back inside.

I breezed down the hallway after Stiles, and found him staring into the elevator. When I got to him, I saw he was staring at an unconscious Derek. I grabbed onto Stiles' shoulders and whirled him around.

"June, what-"

"Stiles, go warn Scott. I'll wait here with Derek, okay? Go warn Scott!" That was all it took for Stiles to run into the stairwell and make his way to the roof. I ran into the elevator, and looked at Derek sprawled out on the ground. I knew that Isaac was going to be waiting for him, and that Cora needed him, so I set to work.

I climbed over to him, and rotated him around so that it was easier to try and wake him up. I checked to make sure he was still breathing, crossing my fingers and hoping against hope that he wouldn't be the second Hale tonight to need mouth-to-mouth. I sighed out in relief when I heard that he was in fact still breathing, and went out to wake him up.

As soon as I leaned over him, I felt this massive rush surge through me. It was so powerful, in fact, it sent me toppling backward. It was almost paralyzing in the sense that so much power rushed through me all at once. I guess I had never thought about how my magic was going to come back. Ginny had once briefly explained that when a witch regains their ability to use magic, it can physically impact them. She said that the reason for it was because magic is constantly running through a witch's veins, so when it is suppressed like only mistletoe can do, it can only come back like a tidal wave.

I guess because I had more abilities than any other witch did it come back like a freaking tsunami. When I could finally move of my own accord again, I scrambled over to Derek, and tried to shake him awake.

I heard sneakers squeaking, and the sound grew closer and closer until the door to the stairwell next to the elevator was wrenched open. Stiles came back into the elevator, and fell down on the other side of Derek.

"He's not responding," I explained, "Breathing, but not responding."

"Okay," Stiles said in a shaky voice, "Okay look, up on the roof I heard sirens in the distance. The police are on their way, and he can't be here when they are."

"Why?" I asked him.

"He's been involved in way too many murder investigations in this town," he explained, "And he was also suspected more than once. He can't be here."

"Okay," I nodded and looked around, "Wait a second. Stiles, where's Scott?"

Stiles looked me dead in the eye, and the defeated look on his face was enough to send chills up and down my arms. "He left with Deucalion."

My eyes widened considerably. "What - why?"

"I'm not really sure, but Jennifer took Melissa, and he's gone off with Deucalion. He said something about finding his mom and my dad."

I snapped out of my shock quickly. "Okay, well here this isn't the time and place to think about making any plans from here on out. We need to get Derek out of here and to Cora."

"But how? You said he's not responding."

I looked over to Derek, "I am so sorry, man." I said, as I raised a hand and did something I have never done in my life.

I slapped the bejesus out of Derek Hale.


	16. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: All Three Gone**

"Jesus, June! What the-"

"Derek?!" I slapped Derek again, ignoring Stiles' questioning of my methods.

"Derek, C'MON!" I slapped him again, and again. He wasn't moving.

"Hang on, let me try!" Stiles said, and he raised his hand. At the last minute, Stiles curled his hand into a fist, and brought it down, only to be caught by the lightning reflexes of a now conscious Derek.

"Oh, thank god," I sighed out.

Derek looked around at the elevator we were still in, "Where is she?" he asked in a gravelly voice.

"Who, Jennifer?" I replied, "Gone, with Scott's mom."

"She took her?"

"Yeah, and if that's not enough of a kick to the balls," Stiles added, "Scott left with Deucalion. Okay, so we gotta get you out of here. The police are coming right now, and we gotta get you the hell out of here." Together, Stiles and I hoisted Derek up onto his feet.

"Whoa," Derek paused, "What about Cora."

"She's with Isaac and Peter. Isaac took them and the Argents to the opposite end of the hospital away from the main entrance and the alphas," I explained. "Right now, they're waiting for you to go and get Cora. No go, we'll take it from here." Derek nodded at me and left without another word.

Oddly enough, I felt a sense of calm as soon as the police walked through the doors. Even though to everyone else it was still a hectic evening, I couldn't help but think that we were entering the calm before the storm. The police guided us to a set of chairs leaning against the wall after Stiles and I told them we were stuck in the elevator. When I sat down, it felt like it was the first time I had ever sat down in my life.

The events of tonight caught up to me, and I was feeling the effects properly since the adrenaline in my system faded. My back was sore and surely bruised from when I collided with the wall Jennifer threw me into. My throat was aching, and I felt like my neck had swollen to three times its normal size. The bruising was tender, and I could hardly turn my head without flinching in pain. I hadn't even noticed the small cuts around my wrists from when I struggled against the tape that kept me to the chair. All I really wanted to do was go home and collapse on my bed, but I knew that sleep was not in the near future for me.

As I was sitting there, I saw Stiles agitatedly shift in his seat. I looked over to him, and heard him mutter, "Just perfect."

I was going to ask him what was wrong, when an FBI agent walked over to us.

"A Stilinski at the center of this whole mess, what a shocker," My eyes widened, appalled at this guy's attitude. It was clear that both Stiles and this man had been acquainted before. The agent looked over to me, "Who're you, again?"

I glanced over at Stiles, "Uh- June Child."

The man nodded and without so much as a 'nice to meet you,' he turned back to Stiles, "Think you can answer a few questions without the usual level of sarcasm?"

Stiles kept eye contact, "If you can ask the questions without the usual level of stupid," He responded without missing a beat. I stood corrected, this FBI guy and Stiles were more than acquainted, there was definite history.

The man smiled in a kind of 'I don't have time for this' way. "Where's your dad? And why has no one been able to contact him?"

"I don't know I haven't seen him for hours," Stiles replied.

"Is he drinking again?" I sat up straighter in my chair. This guy had no respect for boundaries.

Stiles scrunched his eyebrows, "Again, what do you mean again? He never had to stop?"

"But he did have to slow down. Is he drinking like he used to?"

"I hardly think that's appropriate-"

"Answer the question, Stilinski, is he drinking like he used to?"

Stiles was fed up. "Alright how about this. The next time I see him I'll give him a field sobriety test, okay we'll do the alphabet: start with F and end with U."

"How about you just tell me what the hell happened here."

"I don't know what happened here, alright? June and I were stuck in the elevators the whole time."

"You two aren't the one who put the name on the doors, are you?"

"What name?" I asked.

"Argent." Stiles and I looked at each other for a brief second, before I looked back up at the agent.

"Look, sir, I just spent the last hour and a half in an elevator, I would really like to get home and get some sleep. We have no clue what happened here, and the fact that you think otherwise is a little preposterous." I stood up, "Stiles and I have school in a few hours, so if you don't mind..." With that, I took Stiles by the hand and lead him out of the hospital.

"Please tell me why I was just super snarky to that FBI agent," I asked as we walked to Stiles' jeep.

"It was Scott's dad." My eyes widened.

"Scott never talks about his dad," I remarked.

"Yeah with good reason, Rafael McCall is an asshole," He muttered, starting up the engine.

"No shit. I'm going to call Allison, but we need to get over to her place and let them know what was on the doors to the elevator." Stiles nodded in agreement, heading down the familiar road to Allison's apartment building.

In the time it had taken me to call Allison, inform her that we needed to talk, and get to her apartment, the sun had risen. We followed Chris and Allison up the elevator, all the while telling them that their name was on the elevator doors in the hospital, and that meant Chris might be the next target.

"The word is _guardian_ , Allison." Chris said as he unlocked the door to his home. "You more than anyone know that's a role I haven't exactly lived up to."

"But she took Scott's mother and Stiles' father, that's not a coincidence." Allison argued and we all filed into their office.

"Yeah considering the fact that someone also put _your name_ in large block letters on the elevator doors - that kinda felt like a warning to me," Stiles said.

"I think it might be Morrell," Allison guessed. "She knows a lot more than she lets on, and she might even be trying to help us."

"Well she needs to get on that a lot faster," Stiles said. "Especially seeing how the lunar eclipse is less that two freaking nights away."

"Lunar eclipse?" I asked him.

"Yes, June, were you listening? The lunar eclipse is when the moon passes directly into the earth's shadow-"

"I know what a lunar eclipse _is,_ dumbass, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"It's when a werewolf loses its power," Chris answered.

"Oh, so also when Jennifer will be the only one with power." I stated, "Got it, I'm all caught up now." I also in that moment realized what Jennifer meant when she said that she would come for me in the earth's shadow. Deciding that there were bigger issues at hand, I ignored the revelation.

"Stiles," Chris said when he saw Stiles sit down defeatedly. "Don't give up hope."

"They could already be dead," Stiles said.

"I don't think they are. There's something about Jennifer's tactics. It's like she's still positioning, like she's still moving pieces into place."

"And you're one of them," I told him bluntly.

"Then let's not wait around to see her next move," Chris said simply, pulling out his map of telluric currents.

"Everything she's done has been on a telluric current. So, Melissa and the Sheriff have to be on one of those currents, right?" Chris looked over at a quiet Stiles.

"Stiles," he began, "If we're gonna find them, we need your help."

"You seriously wanna go after her?" Stiles said. "I mean what if she just takes you like the others, huh? No offense, but what's the difference between you and them?" I could understand Stiles' pessimism, but it still was discouraging. I turned around when I heard a gun load.

"I'm carrying a .45," Chris answered. "Maybe she can heal from a shot to the leg and a few scratches to the face, but personally I'd like to see how she holds up with half her skull blown off."

"Damn, no mercy," I stated in awe.

"We've got one priority right now, and that is to find Melissa, and your dad," He directed his last bit to Stiles. "We've got a map and every clue we need to figure this out. The only thing we don't have is time, which is why I need all three of you."

Stiles sighed, relenting. He looked up at the three of us and asked, "Where do we start?"

Chris pulled out his black light as Stiles joined us at the table, "The place where the sacrifices have been committed have usually been different from where the bodies have been found. I think the placement has to do with the strength of the currents. So," Chris shone his light on every place he mentioned, "there's the school, the animal clinic, and the bank."

"Wait a second, she wouldn't use the same place twice, would she?" Stiles asked.

"Only if she didn't succeed the first time," I realized where Chris was headed with this. He nodded at me, and shone his light on the bank.

"Scott's boss," Allison realized.

"Deaton," Chris agreed, "He was the only failure, that could mean something."

"That's just one place so far, we're gonna need a lot more help," Stiles said.

"What about Lydia?" I asked.

"Lydia?" Chris questioned and I nodded. "What can she do?"

"Uh, Lydia's got sort of a talent. She somehow ended up finding a couple of the bodies - um - without actually looking for them," Stiles answered.

"What is she, psychic?"

"She's something," I muttered.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," Allison stated. "Dad and I are going to go to the bank and look around for any signs of Jennifer. You two are gonna go to Lydia's and fill her in on what's going on."

We all nodded, and the Argents started pulling out what seemed to be an entire military's arsenal. Chris started loading up the automatic weapons, and Allison started stocking up on knives.

"I thought you guys retired," Stiles uttered meekly.

"Retired? Yes. Defenseless? No." Stiles raises his eyebrows as if to say 'no fucking shit.'

"Make sure your phone's on. If you hear from Scott, let us know immediately." Chris instructed.

"Yeah, I'm thinking that's gonna be kind of unlikely," Stiles remarked.

"Look, guys we just have to remember that Scott's just doing what he thinks is right," I reminded them, and Chris nodded at me. Allison looked up at me, then her gaze landed to the door. I turned around to see Isaac.

"I can't shoot a gun, or use a crossbow but I am getting pretty good with these," he said and he whipped out his claws.

"And that's our cue," I said. "Stiles, c'mon we need to go talk to Lydia." He agreed and walked out the door. I turned around and faced all three of them, "You guys be careful," I warned. "Call me as soon as you find anything."

"Same goes for you." I nodded, and headed to the front door.

* * *

Stiles dropped me off at my house at six in the morning, telling me he'd be back to pick me up in an hour. In that time, I had a small reunion with Ginny, where she hugged me so tight I thought I was going to explode. She then steered me to the kitchen, where she sat me down and told me I wasn't moving until I had a decent breakfast.

Stomach full, I rushed upstairs and hopped in the shower. Cruising along, I jumped out, and immediately set to work on drying my hair. It helped a lot that I could control elements, for it made expunging my hair of any water a breeze. I left my hair in it's wavy state, and went to my dresser. I pulled on a white tee shirt and some high waisted black jeans. I tied the tee in a small knot at the bottom, and threw on a long brown cardigan with some brown boots to match. Proud of myself for looking so put together despite everything that's happened, I headed downstairs.

Ginny had coffee waiting for me when I came back. I grabbed the travel mug and asked her, "Do we still have those healing potions I made?"

She nodded, "They're in the fridge." I nodded and grabbed a few out and put them in my backpack.

"Keep some mistletoe on you today, Gin," I told her as I headed to the front door.

"I thought you said that it was Chris Argent she was going after." Ginny said, following me.

"We think. I'm not taking any chances here, Ginny." There was a knock at my door. "That's Stiles, I gotta go talk to Lydia. Love you."

"Love you too, June."

I opened to door on a freshly dressed Stiles.

"Ready?" He asked me.

I nodded, "Yep. By the way, red pants are a good look for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Off to Lydia's."

* * *

"I don't believe it," Lydia said, "Scott can't really be with them. He can't be!"

Stiles sighed, "You didn't see the look on his face, though. It was..."

"Then what can I do?" she asked, "I mean I get that I'm some kind of human Geiger counter for death, but I don't know how to turn it on and off yet. All I know is that she tried to kill me because of-" She paused and I sat up, remembering how Lydia's scream made my ears bleed.

"Because of what?" Stiles asked. When she didn't answer, he grew more frustrated, "Hey! Lydia, what?"

"When she called Lydia a banshee," I said. Lydia nodded in agreement.

"She seemed surprised by it," She said.

"What if that's not the reason she tried to kill you, Lydia?" I asked.

"Then why did she?" Stiles asked.

Lydia was nodding, plan set in her head, "That's what we need to find out."

* * *

It was the end of the school day. We were all trying to leave, and Lydia hung up the phone again. "Aiden is still not answering me."

I nodded, "That's okay, Lyds. See if you can find him anywhere around here, and keep calling him. We need to know what Scott's doing with them, and if he can still help us." Lydia nodded and walked off. I turned around to face Stiles, who was staring at the phone in his hand. Although I'm not entirely sure how he could read anything on the screen, as his hand was trembling.

"Stiles?" I asked him when his breath started picking up.

"It's from Isaac," He said. "Jennifer she - she has Allison's father. She took him." My eyes widened at him. "She's got all three now."

"Oh god. Oh god, okay. Okay, look there's still time. We still have time," I tried to comfort him, but he wasn't focused on me. His gaze was fleeting around, and his breathing was becoming short and uneven.

"Stiles?" I tried to bring him back to me, "Stiles, are you okay? What is it?"

Still no response.

"What's wrong? _Stiles!_ " I snapped. He looked at me again.

"I think I'm having a panic attack."

"Oh my god," I rushed forward and took him by the hands. Looking around desperately, I tried to find an out. My eyes landed on the locker room, and I lead him over to it, ushering him inside. As soon as he was in, I shut the door, and dropped my backpack next to his. Stiles was already stumbling further into the room. I quickly followed behind him, making sure nothing happened. He clutched onto a set of lockers and slowly sank to the ground. I fell to my knees beside him.

"Oh jeez, okay. Um-" I reached out to take his hands. It became quickly apparent that my empathetic abilities would not be helpful if I couldn't find it in me to pull forth any calming feelings of my own. I quickly rescinded my hands.

"Okay, no magic. Think about something else!"

He looked up at me, panting, "Like what?"

"Anything! Good things, um, your friends, your family-" He looked at me with as much as a 'what the fuck' gaze as he could manage.

My eyes widened, "Oh my god, not family. Not family," I started breathing with him, "Just try and slow your breathing. Breathe with me," I motioned to my slow breaths.

Stiles shook his head, "I - I can't."

Running out of ideas, I scoot forward.

Placing my shaking hands on either side of my face, I made him make eye contact with me. I gently coaxed him and shushed him, when I finally said, "You're gonna have to trust me on this one," before slamming my lips onto his.

The first thing I thought was how sloppy of a kiss it was. I hadn't swallowed any spit prior to it, so there was definitely some moisture involved. Our teeth clashed a bit, but I kept kissing him. In a way, all the messiness of the kiss made it kind of perfect. It eventually grew softer, and I swear after that, everything got quiet. My mind, my body, everything was just quiet.

But the most important part was that Stiles held his breath. He didn't really move into the kiss, but as I pulled away, his lips twitched in a way that made me wonder if he wanted to keep kissing me. I detached from him, and my hands slid from where they were resting on his face.

"I am so sorry," I whispered. My cheeks were flaming, and I heard Stiles let out a slow and audible breath, letting me know that his breathing was back to normal.

"How'd you do that?" He asked me quietly.

"I - uh. I read once that holding your breath could stop a panic attack." I stated. I licked my lips, still tasting him when I continued. "So, when I kissed you, you - uh - you held your breath."

He tilted his head. "I did?"

"Yeah," I said awkwardly, "You did. I'm sorry, I wouldn't have kissed you, I just couldn't think of something else. You know, I couldn't focus any good emotions to give you magically with you panicking and all. Usually, I'm all about consent, I don't really know what I was thinking, I kind of panicked myself-"

"June, it was really smart." Stiles interrupted my rambling, and I slumped in relief.

"You're really smart," He repeated.

I smiled timidly, and gently hit his leg. "I dunno, I just read it somewhere." We sat up, "If I was really smart, I would sign you up for a few sessions with the guidance counselor."

Stiles laughed, then froze. His gaze locked with mine, "Morrell."

We rushed to gather all of our things, and ran to her office. We burst through to see a girl already there, but no guidance counselor.

"Are you here for Morrell?" Stiles asked.

"No, I thought this was gym class," the girl responded.

"Darling, we are so not in the mood for funny right now. Do you know where she is?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here waiting for twenty minutes! So how about you two back out the door, and wait your turn."

"We're not here for a session," I told her.

"Well I am. And I've got some serious issues to work on," She was not relenting.

"Hang on," Stiles said, "You're Danielle. You're Heather's best friend."

"I _was_ Heather's best friend," she replied morosely. "We've been working on that issue three times a week."

"Hang on, did you say that Morrell is twenty minutes late?" Stiles asked her.

Danielle nodded, "And I don't know why, either. She's always on time."

Stiles looked over to me, "I saw her after the whole hostage situation at the Sheriff's department last year. She was never late."

"Hostage situation-? Never mind, that means she's not late, she's missing. What if we're not the only people who think she knows something?

"Then I wanna know what she knows," Stiles went an looked through her stuff to see if there were any clues.

"Excuse me, those files are private." Danielle said.

"Yeah, she's kind of right," I nodded.

"Here's Lydia's," Stiles held out a file.

"Lydia was in here?" I took the file, wondering what she was in here for, suddenly worried about her wellbeing like an over-protective mama bear.

I started reading over some of her notes on Lydia, looking to see if there was anything suspicious. I heard Stiles stop rustling around, and he looked over at Lydia's file.

"Wait a second, look at that drawing." I looked up at him.

"What about it? It's a tree," I said.

"Yeah, it's good too," Danielle said.

"Oh my gosh, I'll totally let Lydia know you said that! She'll love to hear that."

"No, June, it's the same tree."

"It's just a tree, Lydia likes to draw trees."

"June, it's the same tree _you've_ been drawing over and over again. Just upside down." He held out my wrist to compare with the tree, then dug out his phone. He flashed a picture of my bedroom, with all the same tree trunks and roots repeated over and over again.

"Okay, you can have my session," Danielle said, getting her stuff and leaving. "You've got bigger issues."

"How did you get a picture of this?" I asked him.

"That night you were explaining how you were cast out. You went to go open some windows in your room and I took a picture of the drawings on your chalkboard." Looking down at the drawings, he took Lydia's drawing, and flipped it upside down.

"I know where they are." He mumbled.

"That's great," I said, "Where?"

"The nemeton." I gulped, then it dawned on me.

"That's why Jennifer wanted Lydia dead. She told Lydia that she wasn't a sacrifice, that she was a girl who knew too much. Lydia was drawing the nemeton this whole time!"

"What about you?"

"I've only recently begun seeing this tree in my dreams, Stiles. It comes with a more recent ability I've developed. I couldn't tell you why or how. I'm also not about to just rely on my dreams to figure out where your parents are. That's far too risky."

We walked out of Morrell's office. "Okay, call Lydia. Tell her to get to Derek's loft and tell him that they're in the root cellar. Both Derek and Peter have been there before so they can figure this out."

I nodded, doing what he asked. All while I was on the phone, I saw Scott's dad walk up to Stiles and start talking to him. When I hung up with Lydia, Agent McCall beckoned me with his finger, and together he, Stiles, and I walked into an empty classroom.

"Stiles, why am I getting the feeling that you know something that could help us find your dad?" He asked.

Stiles looked up at him a little disbelievingly, "If I did, why would I not tell you?"

"If it meant helping your dad, why wouldn't you?"

"So you're asking me to tell you what I wouldn't not tell you?" Stiles said, and I smiled at him.

"First off I have no idea what you just said. Second, how about you just help me help you?" McCall spoke in a level tone.

"Well I don't know how to help you help me tell you something that would help you if I don't know it." Stiles said, a small smirk on his face.

"Are you doing this on purpose?"

"I don't know anything, okay? Can I just go?"

"Where are your other friends?" He asked.

"You mean Scott?" I asked him.

"I mean Scott, I mean Isaac Lahey," He pulled out a notepad, "Allison Argent. These twins, Ethan and Aiden. I've been told your whole little clique didn't show up for school today. Except for this one, apparently," He gestured to me. "She seems to follow you around like a puppy dog."

"June doesn't follow anyone," Stiles defended before I could say something I would regret, "And I don't have a clique."

"Stiles, c'mon. There's been a pretty disturbing amount of violent activity in this county in the last few months. Several _murders_ tied to this school. I don't know what's going on here, but it's serious." Stiles stared out the window. "And - hey." McCall tried to get his attention. "Your dad is missing," He said slowly.

When Stiles said nothing, the agent stood up, "Fine. But I don't want you going home alone. Is there anyone you could stay with tonight? Your girlfriend here, maybe?"

Before I could say that I was not in fact his girlfriend but he was welcome to stay with me, another voice called out from the doorway of classroom.

"He's with me," Dr. Deaton said.

* * *

Isaac, Lydia, and Allison met Stiles, Deaton, and I at the vet clinic. We all gathered around the metal table that was in the center of the room.

"It has to be on a telluric current, or maybe even at the axis of two or where they all intersect," Stiles told a pensive Deaton. "I just know that it's where Derek took Paige to die."

"Terribly morbid." I commented.

"My dad and Gerard were there once, but Gerard said it was years ago and he couldn't remember where it was. My dad obviously isn't here to tell us now..." Allison trailed off.

"Yeah mine either," Stiles added.

"Then how do we find this place?" Isaac asked.

Deaton looked over to me, "There might be a way. But it's dangerous. And we're gonna need Scott."

"What do we need to do?" I asked him.

"What do _you_ need to do would be the better question, June." Deaton said, and all eyes looked to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"I'm not any kind of expert, but I have read before that witches are superior when it comes to casting spells and performing rituals."

"I'm not sure what you're getting at here, Doc."

"What we need to do, is create a ritual."

"What kind?"

"Sacrificial." There was a heavy silence.

"Okay, look. This is my second and final time saying this: Witches do not commit sacrifices. We don't need to." My gaze looked over to Stiles, and he avoided eye contact.

"You don't need to, but you know how to."

"Sure, I know how to, Deaton. But I'm not killing people."

Deaton smiled, "You misunderstand me, I'm not asking you to kill people, June. I'm asking you to sacrifice them so they can find the nemeton. _Then_ I'm asking you to bring them back."

My eyebrows shot up, "The ritual you're talking about is next level. I mean, not even the High Priestess of my old coven ever performed it. It takes too much power."

Stiles spoke up, "Right but if anyone could do it, June it's you. You have more power than any witch known."

"Stiles, the odds of this working one hundred percent are astronomical, what you're asking me to do, the chances are too high."

"And we've gone up against greater odds," Stiles assured me. I looked around the room, and all of my friends nodded at me. I looked back at Deaton, who had encouragement in his eyes. I guess the only person against this whole thing was just me.

"Okay. But Deaton's right: we still need Scott."

"Deaton and I can go find him, just do what you have to do," Stiles rubbed my arm reassuringly and left with Deaton. I looked over to Allison, Isaac, and Lydia.

"Okay, you," I gestured to Allison. "You, Scott, and Stiles, all need a token that is important to you and your parent. Text Scott and Stiles tell them. In the meantime I need salt, mistletoe, and ice. Lots and lots of ice."

* * *

Stiles came back with Scott. They walked in to three tubs of ice water sitting in the middle of the room. Mistletoe sat in each of the tubs as well, and a ring of salt went around each of them on the ground. I put three candles on the table behind me.

"Just to go over this one more time, Scott, Stiles, and Allison will become surrogate sacrifices for your parents."

"We die for them?" Scott asked.

Stiles nodded, "But she can bring us back. You - _can_ bring us back, right?"

"You remember the part where I said it was dangerous?" Deaton interrupted. Stiles nodded off, suddenly looking like he immediately regretted thinking he could do this.

"If it goes right," I said, "the three of you will be dead for a few seconds. But there is something else to consider. This ritual is a dangerous thing for more reasons than one. Because it is tied so closely to druidic practice coupled with the fact that your parents are at the nemeton, heed caution. You'll be giving power back to the nemeton, a place that hasn't had power from what I'm told for a long time.

"If my facts are straight, this kind of power acts as a magnet for the supernatural. The kind of things that are weird even by New York City standards. Stuff that Allison and her family could fill the pages of a bestiary with. It'll draw them all here, like a - like-"

"Like a Beacon." Deaton said. I looked over and nodded at him.

"Lastly, it'll have an effect on the three of you. Dying and coming back to life effects you in a way that nothing else will. It'll be like a kind of - darkness - around your heart. You can't see it, but you'll feel it for the rest of your lives. It's also very permanent."

"Like a tattoo," Scott said.

"That being said," I rubbed my hands together, "shall we get started? What did you guys bring?"

"Um, I got my dad's badge." Stiles held up the bent and misshapen sheriff's badge. "Jennifer kind of crushed it, in her hand, so I tried hammering it out a bit. It still doesn't look great."

"It doesn't need to look great if it has meaning to you," I assured him.

"Is that an actual silver bullet?" I heard Isaac ask, and I looked over to Allison.

"Yeah, my dad made it. It's kind of a ceremonial thing. When one of us finishes learning all the skills it takes to be a hunter, we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the code."

"Scott, what about yours?" I asked him.

"My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital. She used to say it was the only thing in her marriage that ever worked." I nodded.

"Okay, great. I'm gonna go hang up my sweater really quick. In the meantime, take off anything you don't want to get wet." I went over to the next room and hung up my cardigan, breathing deeply.

"June?" I turned around to see Stiles in the doorway.

"Sorry, yeah, I'll be in in a second."

"You're going to do great, you know that?"

"Well, at least one of us seems to think so." I looked up at him.

"Hey, I mean it. You're the smartest person I've ever met, and that's saying something because I know Lydia." I gave him a small smile.

"In all seriousness, June, I want you to not be scared about this."

"It's hard to not be, Stiles."

"And I get that. But if it helps, think about what you're doing. I mean really think. You're helping save lives, here. You're doing exactly the opposite of what your coven thought you were going to do. Performing this, choosing to involve yourself, putting your friends first always, you're proving them wrong everyday. You're even proving me wrong." I raised my eyebrows at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I guess I never really got to say it, but here goes. June Child, I am so sorry that I accused you of all the things I did. I'm sorry that I didn't do what I could to understand your situation better before making all the harsh judgments I did about you. I'm sorry that through me, you felt like you were never leaving the cycle of being cast out. I'm so sorry June, and if I could I would take it all back. Since I can't, I guess I'll just have to be okay with you proving me wrong everyday."

It was with watery eyes and a large smile that I reached out and gave him the biggest hug of my life. My arms flew around his middle, and he put one hand on the back of my arms, and the other in my hair. His chin rested on the top of my head, and for that moment, we were content.

I slowly pulled away from his cinnamon-smelling shirt, and looked up at him. "I swear to you, Stiles Stilinski, I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure you three pull through this."

We walked back into the room, everyone seemingly ready.

"Okay, let's begin. I need the three of you to each light a candle," I stated and held out a lighter. Scott, Allison, and Stiles all came up and lit a candle respectively. I moved the candles apart from each other. "The candles will symbolize you and your lives. For the ritual, if you are alive, the candle is lit, if you are not, the candle has no flame.

"Next, the three of you will get in, then the other three will hold you under until you are essentially - well - dead." They all looked at each other nervously.

"But it's not just someone to hold you under, it needs to be someone who can pull you back. The important part about this is that the same magic I will be using to perform this ritual is going to be the same magic that chooses who will be your anchor in this. Let's get to work."

I took a deep breath and thought about nothing else except letting my magic take over. It was a process that typically took years for a witch to master, but like most things, it came very easily for me. Suddenly, I was not speaking of my own accord.

"Lydia," I sensed a strong bond of friendship, "Go with Stiles."

"Deaton will go with Scott," I said, my magic picking up on the paternal relationship of the vet and Scott.

"Lastly, Isaac will go with Allison," I could feel the quickly approaching romance. My magic let me go, and I was cognizant once again. When I came around, everyone was looking at each other awkwardly, except Scott. Scott looked a little sad.

"It's okay," he nodded.

"We're burning daylight here, people. Let's get into positions. Scott, Stiles, Allison, get into the tub. Deaton, Isaac, and Lydia, get behind them. Whatever you do, do not break the salt circles."

They did as I asked, and got into positions. The former three's breathing becoming shallow due to the bitter cold.

"The ritual will end when you resurface awake." I explained. "Are we ready?"

Stiles turned to Scott, "Hey, if I don't make it out of this and you do you should know something. Your dad's in town." Scott's eyes widened, and he stared straight ahead.

"Whenever you're ready," I heard Deaton say. I started mumbling the incantations, and soon became lost in my magic once more. Overhead, the lights flickered, and the ground shook slightly. Deaton, Lydia, and Isaac took that as their cue to push Allison, Stiles, and Scott under.

All was silent, and after a minute or so, the flames on all three candles went out.


	17. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: A Game of Waiting**

The candles were quick to light back up, showing that all three of them had successfully sacrificed themselves. They all floated back to the surface, still completely unconscious. Lydia, Isaac, and Deaton all looked to me.

"So what now?" Lydia asked me.

"My part's over," I told her. "Now we just have to wait for them to wake up and tell us."

"How long is that gonna take?" Isaac questioned.

I shrugged, "It could be minutes, it could be hours. We're talking about magic here, it's not set in stone. Considering the size of this ritual and how much power we will be giving back to the nemeton, it might be on the longer side of things."

"So now it's just one big guessing game," Isaac stated, obviously frustrated.

"Think of it this way: Allison, Scott, and Stiles are in the same situation as a coma patient. They're alive, but it's up to them when they wake up."

"Except in this case, it's up to your magic when they wake up."

I nodded my head, "Kind of. Ultimately, it's not in anyone's hands but their own now."

I looked on worryingly at my friends. It was so spooky to see them laying there essentially dead. They all looked white as a sheet, and Stiles' lips turned an alarming shade of blue.

I thought back to how not even hours ago, I kissed him. I felt so embarrassed, when I pulled away, he looked like I had just told him I killed his dad. It was that level of shock. I was also mortified at how I felt like I basically swallowed his mouth because I couldn't even function properly as a witch to calm him down with my magic. I mean, I have had my fair share of kisses in my lifetime, the least I could have done was give him a better kiss. The most embarrassing thing about it all was that I kind of liked the feeling he gave me when I kissed him.

I looked away from all of them to see Deaton's eyes on me as I looked at Stiles. I made eye contact with him and said, "You should know what to do if they wake up right?"

He nodded, "I think I can manage."

"Great," I said, grabbing my bag. "Lydia, I'm going to go pick up some fresh clothes for them, do you want to come with me?"

"But what about them?" She gestured to the three teens in the tubs.

"I can't sit still and just watch, Lydia. I need to do something." She shrugged and made to follow me out the door. I stopped and turned to Isaac.

"Text me if anything changes, I'll be back over here in a heartbeat." Isaac nodded, and I grabbed my cardigan and left.

We got to Lydia's car, and decided to make our way to Allison's first. I sat in Lydia's passenger seat, and I explained to her what we found in her file in Morrell's office.

"So that's why she tried to kill me?" She asked, "I was drawing the nemeton the entire time?"

"Must be a banshee thing," I said to her. "How does that feel, by the way? To like, know what you are?"

Lydia shook her head, "I'd feel a lot better knowing how to use it rather than just knowing what I am. But it is slightly comforting to know that I'm not really crazy."

I nodded, "At least we can start working with it."

"Have you ever come across a banshee before?"

"Why would you think I have?"

She gave me the side eye, "June, you lived in New York City. What _didn't_ you come across?"

I laughed, "That's true. And yes I have met a banshee before."

"What was she like?"

"Well, all banshees have really different abilities, but it's always the same end goal. They all scream when someone is about to die or is already dead."

I looked over at Lydia, who looked very worried, "Most of the time, it's when someone is about to die. They save lives more often than not, Lydia. Let's not forget you saved my life."

I could see her glance briefly over to the bruise around my neck. "I did not, June. You saved mine."

"I cast a spell over you, that's completely different. I was being strangled to death, and your scream caught her off guard."

"It didn't matter, she strangled you again."

I rolled my eyes, "Lydia, you gave me enough time for Sheriff Stilinski and Scott to get there. You helped save my life, so thank you."

She smiled at me. "I guess I should say thank you too. If you hadn't cast that spell over me, I would have been the first to go."

"Please Lydia, if anything, you're gonna be the last one standing in all of this."

We pulled up to Allison's apartment building, and went inside. Lydia was smart enough to take Allison's keys before we left, and together we walked inside. We made our way to her room, and I went over to her dresser to pick out some clothing. It wasn't much, just a pair of jeans and a pink tee shirt. I went over to her closet and was surprised to find much more than clothing. Inside was a state of the art compound bow, and several arrows lined up next to it.

"Y'all are way too prepared for this shit," I muttered, pulling off a cardigan from one of the hangers. I looked to her nightstand to find a couple ring daggers. Figuring she might not get the chance to come back here, I grabbed them as well. I met Lydia out in the hallway, and we made our way outside back to Lydia's car.

"Where to next?"

"Scott's then Stiles'. I need to talk to Ginny anyway."

Scott's house was slightly trickier. We had to wait for a solid thirty minutes before entering his house. It turns out that his dad was staying over there, and didn't leave until he got a phone call. He quickly got into his car, and headed to what I was guessing was the sheriff's station. Lydia and I ran inside and grabbed a change of clothes for Scott, and wasted no time in getting back outside.

Since Scott and Stiles lived so close, it didn't take much longer to get to Stiles' house. When Lydia and I entered his room, I sort of froze. I felt like I was totally invading his space, more so than Scott's or Allison's. Lydia noticed my hesitation.

"June, what's wrong?"

"I've just never been in his room before," I slowly sat down on his bed and looked around.

"You've also never been inside Scott's room before," she remarked.

"Yeah well I've never kissed Scott either," I mumbled. Lydia's eyes widened.

" _You kissed Stiles_?" she said disbelievingly, "How? When?"

I stood up and walked over to his desk, where I saw a picture of a woman I could only guess was Stiles' mom. The corners of my lips twitched upwards.

"After school." I started, "Right after you left to go find Aiden, Isaac texted Stiles about Allison's dad being taken. He started panicking, and soon enough it grew into a fully fledged panic attack." I looked back to Lydia who was listening intently.

"We made our way into the locker room. I tried using my magic to like, empathetically calm him down, but his panic was kind of making me panic too. His breathing wouldn't slow down and I eventually just kind of - kissed him - I guess."

"You guess?"

"No, I definitely kissed him. I don't really know why - I - I just-"

"He held his breath right?"

I nodded, "It was the first thing I thought of that would make him hold his breath."

Lydia plopped down on Stiles' bed, and I sad down next to her. "So, you kissed him to end his panic attack." I hummed in agreement. "What did he do?"

"Well, he kind of - he kind of looked at me like I just-"

"Like what?"

"Like I kicked a fucking puppy, Lydia."

I saw Lydia wince, "So it was shock."

"It was more than that, it was like I was an alien who suddenly grew a second head or something. But then he told me it was really smart, and that I was really smart."

"And this is a big deal, why? I mean, you helped him out, end of story."

"Well, I kind of liked it." Lydia looked over to me, a sort of giddy grin on her face.

"You _liked_ kissing him?"

"Well, yeah. I mean his lips are ridiculously soft, and he tasted like raspberries. I mean come on, what girl doesn't like raspberries...?" I trailed off. "I just, don't want to do anything stupid."

"What do you mean? Stupid isn't in our vocabulary, June."

"I just mean that I only just got to really be friends with him. I mean, it's been like what, two days since he got back on my good side? I could technically count the time before I was mad at him as well in our friendship, but even still. I've only just become friends with him. I don't want to act on anything that I might think is there when I've only known him for two months. Something more needs to be there before I can even think of anything else besides friendship with Stiles."

"So you're saying you want to be friends." I nodded, coming to the realization too.

"I don't even think he thought more of the kiss than what it was," I said. "Besides, I could use more friends."

I told Lydia to go and pick something out for Stiles to wear, and that I'd meet her by her car. I ran outside the Stilinski household, and across the street into mine.

"Ginny?" I called into the house.

"In the living room!" I heard her reply. I walked over to the living room and saw her eating leftover Italian.

"Hey, I need to ask a question." She raised her eyebrow.

"Sure thing, kiddo, what's up?"

"Where are your books on alternative rituals?"

"What, why?"

I winced, "I may have performed one a few hours ago." She stopped mid-chew.

"Which ritual?"

"I may have sacrificed Allison, Scott, and Stiles in place of their parents and given back power to a Celtic place of worship in the roots of a cut down tree..." I trailed off, looking over Ginny's face.

There was a ten second gap where she didn't say anything, then:

"June, I swear to god I'm going to die prematurely because of you." She got up and went to the study that doubled as my classroom. Scanning the titles that sat on the bookshelf, she pulled one out that said _Druidic Ties in Spell Casting and Performing Rituals_.

"Here: Chapter Twelve - Different Sacrifices and Their Meanings." I took the book from her hands and skimmed over the chapter. Deciding that I should go back to Deaton's, I shut the book and thanked Ginny. I ran upstairs and grabbed a change of clothes. I figured that even if I wasn't freezing underwater, I might not want to sit in the same clothes for a long period of time.

I then ran down the stairs and into the kitchen where I started digging through Ginny's wallet.

"June, what the hell are you doing?"

"I don't know how long they'll be, so we might need food," I said, pulling out my confiscated debit card.

"Be on standby, I don't know when I'll be available," I turned to leave, when I thought of something. I waved my hands out in Ginny's direction.

"What did you just cast?" She asked me.

"The same spell I put on Allison and Lydia, it's just a protection spell. Jennifer can't really hurt you." I smiled at her and gave her a hug.

"Wait for a call. I love you!" I said as I headed over to the front door.

"I love you too, June. Please be careful!"

"Always am!" I left the house and walked over to Lydia's car.

* * *

Another thirteen hours passed, and still nothing. Empty Chinese food boxes were currently sitting in Deaton's trash can. I had napped for about four hours, my body literally to wound up to sleep any longer. Twelve hours in I changed into new clothes, and was furiously pacing the room.

"Okay, when I said this would take minutes maybe hours, I did not anticipate it would take fifteen freaking hours." I said aloud, going over to the book on rituals and flicking through the pages I had been reading over and over again.

"The full moon and the eclipse are starting in like four and a half hours, is there any way we could try and wake them up?" Lydia asked, and I shook my head.

"They have to wake up on their own accord," I said. "Otherwise we could endanger what they're trying to figure out, as well as their lives."

"But there's gotta be something-" Isaac tried.

"Look, I don't know how else to say this, but I'll say it again. I don't have any more control over this than you do, okay? It's out of my hands."

We spent the better part of the next hour in total silence. I threw my book to the side in frustration, letting out a huff. I checked my phone for the umpteenth time, only to remind myself that the only people who ever text me were sitting in this room. I sighed, and started playing a game on my phone.

Twenty minutes later, Allison, followed by Stiles and Scott, shot up out of the water. I threw my phone down next to the book and stood up, immediately going for the towels Deaton laid out. All three of them looked slightly delirious.

"I saw it, I know where it is!" Scott yelled out to Deaton. I threw Deaton a towel to give to Scott, and handed one off to Allison before heading over to Stiles with a towel of his own.

"We passed it," Stiles said, "there was this stump. This huge tree. Well it's not huge anymore, it was cut down. But it's still big, very big."

"It was the night we were looking for the body!" Scott said.

"Yeah, the same night you were bit by Peter," Stiles agreed.

"I was there too, in the car with my mother," Allison mentioned. "We almost hit someone."

Scott looked at her, "Me. You almost hit me!" Allison let out a small laugh of disbelief.

"We can find it!" Scott said, looking at Deaton. When no one said anything, Stiles looked over to me.

"Wait, June, why are you wearing different clothes?"

"You guys were out a long time," I told him.

"What do you mean, how long is a long time?" He asked me.

"Sixteen hours," Deaton said.

"We were in the water for sixteen hours?" Scott asked.

"And the full moon rises in less than four," I confirmed.

After everyone had dried of a considerable amount, Scott voiced that he needed to get back to Deucalion.

"No, dude you are not going back with them!" Stiles said.

"I made a deal with Deucalion," Scott said.

"Does anyone else think that sounds an awful lot like 'Deal with the devil?'" Stiles gestured to everyone else.

"More like 'Deal with Death, Destroyer of Worlds' if we want to get technical," I told him.

"Why does it matter anyway?" Isaac asked Scott.

"Because," he answered, "I still don't think we can beat Jennifer without their help."

Allison shook her head, "He trusts you more than anyone," She said to Deaton, "Tell him he's wrong."

The vet crossed his arms, "I'm not so sure he is. Circumstances like this sometimes require that you align yourself with people you'd normally consider enemies."

"So we're gonna trust him?" Isaac asked. "The guy who calls himself 'Death, Destroyer of Worlds' as June put it? We're gonna trust that guy?"

"I wouldn't trust him," Deaton argued, "But you could use him to your advantage. Deucalion may be the enemy, but he could also be the bait."

Before any of us could let that settle, the door to the animal clinic dinged open. Deaton and I were first to the lobby. I wasn't expecting Ethan to be on the other side of the mountain ash barrier.

"I'm looking for Lydia?" He asked, and she slid into view.

"What do you want?" She asked him.

"I need your help," Ethan pleaded. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"With what?" I questioned.

"Stopping my brother, and Kali from killing Derek."

Scott's hunch about Ethan not wanting to hurt people anymore paid off. I looked over to Scott and nodded.

"It's great and all that you finally want to put a stop to all the murder and destruction that you and you pack have caused, but I'm not entirely sure we can trust you." Stiles said.

"Look trust or not, Kali's going after Derek, and so is my brother. I might be able to get Aiden on my side if Lydia comes with me."

"He's right," Lydia said, and I looked at her, "We can't take the chance that Derek can stop both of them, we need to go help him."

"Lydia, you're not going by yourself," Scott argued.

"Maybe she doesn't have to," I offered, and everyone looked to me.

"Drive over to my house. I can call Ginny and tell her that we need her to go over to Derek's."

"But you said Ginny's human." Stiles said.

"Ginny is mortal, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't know what we're dealing with." I looked over at Ethan. "Just so you know, Ginny and I keep wolfsbane stocked in our pantry like it's salt. There's no room for you to pull any kind of stunt."

I looked over to Lydia, "I cast a protections spell around her too, the both of you can't be hurt by Jennifer's power, but that doesn't include werewolves. I'll call Ginny and fill her in, she should have some stuff that might do some damage if a fight breaks out. She can protect you too." Lydia nods at all of this, and walks out the door with Ethan.

"No funny business, pal!" I yelled at his retreating back.

"Okay so what's the plan of action now?" Isaac asked.

"We should all get something of our parent's, something with a scent." Scott stated. After that, we can all meet at the preserve and track down the nemeton. June, you go with Stiles, and Allison, Isaac, and I will meet you two out there."

I nodded, about to leave. "Oh, before I forget!" I rummaged around the vet's office. I found what I was looking for and threw them at their faces.

"Change first, you guys could use a little extra warmth."

"How did you get our clothes?"

"Lydia and I went over to your guys' houses while you were under. I didn't know if you guys were going to be able to make it back yourselves before the moon came up."

Twenty minutes later, and we were back at Stiles' house. We walked in and he called Scott. Shortly into the conversation, Stiles got slightly frustrated.

"Okay well what counts as a strong scent, Scott? The thing with the strongest scent would be his boxers! Would you just smell my dad's boxers, Scott! It's life and death! Fine! What about his socks? Socks will work? Okay. I'll be at the preserve." Stiles then hung up the phone and sprinted up the stairs to his father's room. He clutched a pair of socks in his hand, and as if to show me he found them, he practically shoved them in my face.

"Whoa there, Stiles! Scott's the one smelling your dad's dirty laundry here, not me!"

"Right, sorry. C'mon, let's get to the preserve."

As we were driving farther along, Stiles and I could see a storm brewing on the horizon.

"I'm not really one for guessing, but I take it the storm is probably where we want to go?" I asked Stiles.

"Yep," He nodded, and turned his fog lights on.

Ten more minutes in, and we were no longer on the road. We had pulled off onto a gravel road saying that the Beacon Hills Preserve was five minutes out. The weather had gotten considerably worse in record time, and I started to realize that this storm wasn't a natural occurrence.

 _When the storm starts in the earth's shadow, your time will come._

I was jostling in my seat as Stiles maneuvered his jeep around falling debris, trying to keep a steady path. His fog lights were useless now, as so much was flying through the air it was impossible to see five feet in front of the hood. Stiles was squinting his eyes, and kept muttering "C'mon," to the jeep to keep on keeping on.

A bolt of lightning struck, and Stiles narrowly missed a tree branch flying back to the windshield. He whipped around to see the branch scrape the side of his jeep. However, he stared at it for too long.

"Stiles, watch out!" I yelled as the jeep headed for a tree. Stiles let out a yell of surprise, and tried to get out of the way. We were far too close to make any kind of escape route, unfortunately, and a couple things happened in the two seconds before and during our collision.

The first, I threw up a magic shield over Stiles, knowing that it wasn't going to save him, but it would soften the blow.

Second, I realized that in trying to save Stiles, I did nothing to protect myself.

The third, we hit the tree.

The initial impact of the crash sent my head into Stiles' windshield, and I collided hard enough to crack the glass. The bounce back was equally as strong, and sent my already bruised back slamming against the passenger's seat. The final jolt forward of the jeep sent me sprawling across the dashboard. I heard a distinct pop come from somewhere on my body, and before much else could happen, I blacked out.


	18. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: The Most Inconvenient Root Cellar Ever**

Of the two of them, Stiles was the first to wake up. He had been slumped in his seat and leaning against the window. Before he opened his eyes, he could feel liquid matted on his forehead like sweat. He reached up to touch his head, and a sharp pain made him open his eyes. He drew his fingers back into his line of sight, and saw the red coating them.

It was then that everything came flooding back to him. The storm, which was still raging, how he couldn't see, how June yelled at him before they crashed into the tree.

 _June._

Stiles looked over to the passenger's side of the jeep, and his eyes widened. "June?" He called out. June looked like the jeep had decided to play tug of war with her. Her left arm was tangled with her seatbelt, while the rest of her was sprawled out on the dashboard. There was blood running down from the top of her head. Stiles looked up and could see a fissure of cracks on his windshield that had blood smeared in it. There were other gashes on her arms, and broken glass sat in her lap.

"June! Hey, June," Stiles tried again. She wasn't moving, and it was starting to scare Stiles. Stiles slowly sat up, and reached over to her. He moved the strands of hair from her face and reached for her neck, placing two fingers on a vein running through her neck. He sighed in relief when he felt her heartbeat.

He placed his hand on her shoulder tentatively, and shook her. "June, we gotta go, wake up." Nothing. "June," He shook her again. " _June!_ Come on, June wake up. June?"

* * *

Across town, Ginny and Lydia were watching a battle of Roman proportions. While Kali came to the loft with the intention of killing Derek, she got a little more than she bargained for when Jennifer Blake literally dropped through the ceiling, showering everyone with glass.

Kali lunged forward with every intention of killing her emissary. Jennifer flawlessly dodged every single blow, and sent her flying backward with a pulse of energy. Ginny could only pray in her heart that this would never happen between her and June. In that moment she made a promise to herself and June that she would never put June in a situation where she felt she would have to.

Jennifer had run over to the two alpha twins. Behind her back they were trying to form their monster wolf and put a stop to the darach. Before they could even get close, Jennifer pulled the two apart, knocking them down. Kali took this as an opportunity to attack from behind, but Jennifer still had the upper hand. She ducked under Kali's clawed feet and backed into the center of all the broken glass.

"That's right, Kali look at me. Look at my face," Jennifer said scathingly. "Do you have any idea what it takes to look like this? To look normal?"

"I don't care," Kali said, effectively pissing the darach off.

"It takes power. Power like this," Jennifer spread her arms, lifting up all the glass shards surrounding her. Ginny felt Lydia clutch onto her arm, and Ginny pulled her in close so she wouldn't have to witness what was about to happen.

"I - I should have-" Kali stuttered when the pieces of glass all pointed to her, "I should have RIPPED YOUR HEAD OFF!"

Jennifer screamed out as she shot the glass forward. Ginny squeezed Lydia tighter when the glass pierced Kali, killing the werewolf. Jennifer looked around to the two twins who had successfully merged together. They charged, and with one move, Jennifer grabbed them by the neck, snapping it cleanly and loudly. She then turned to the two women who were trembling in the corner.

"What's that line coach likes to say? 'The bigger they are...?'"

Ginny moved Lydia behind her and pulled a vial out of her pocket. Before she could break it at Jennifer's feet, the darach lifted her up by the neck and tossed her into the glass. Ginny could feel a shard pierce her arm, and cringed.

Lydia had been backed up to a post? "What do you want from me?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"I want you to do what you do best, Lydia. I want you to scream," Jennifer said, revealing her true self. Ginny swore Lydia's wail echoed around the town.

* * *

Stiles had successfully managed to get out of his side of the jeep. He stumbled around to the back of his jeep and pulled out an aluminum bat. He almost broke his hand trying to shut the door, as the wind was so ferocious it slammed the jeep's door on its own accord. Stiles fought the wind to get to the other side of his car and to June.

He wrenched the door open, and put his back on the other side of it, so the storm wouldn't impede on his rescue attempt. The first thing he did was pull June off of the dashboard, and sit her straight up against the passenger seat. Next thing he did was unbuckle and untwist her seatbelt, sending it back into her seat.

He then put June's arm over his shoulder, and slid his hand around her waist. With effort, he hoisted her up and off of the seat. He pulled her back, and nearly fell to the ground when her legs fell out of the jeep. Her full body weight on him, he brought her farther away from the jeep. Body still exhausted from the crash, Stiles slipped back into unconsciousness next to the witch he just saved.

* * *

"Cutting it a little close, aren't we Scott?" Isaac, Allison, and Scott turned to the sound of Deucalion's voice.

"We got a little delayed," Scott said, referring to his father back at Allison's apartment. "Were are the others?"

"Occupying themselves with other pursuits," He said casually.

Scott's eyebrows shot up, "So it's just you and me against her?"

"I think you'll be surprised what a good team we make."

Scott turned back to Isaac and Allison, "Okay, get Stiles and June. And then get to the root cellar. We'll keep Jennifer away long enough for you to get them out of there."

"How are we gonna do that?" Isaac asked him.

"I have a plan," Scott replied.

* * *

Jennifer had just left with Derek after receiving a video message from Scott. Ginny coaxingly got Lydia off of the floor, and together with Cora, started heading out of the loft.

"We have to get going, sweetheart. We have to get help," Ginny said reassuringly.

"From who?" Lydia said in a shaky voice.

"I don't know, but we need to get out of here."

The three girls suddenly stopped when they heard movement from behind them. Quickly turning around, they saw the twins separate themselves from each other, indicating life.

Ginny was quick to act, "Lydia, help me out. Cora, take the other one. We'll bring them to my car."

"Can you help them?" Cora asked her.

Ginny shook her head, "Not me, but I know a phenomenal on-call specialist."

* * *

Stiles woke up again, and noticed June was exactly where he left her before he passed out. He scrambled to sit up again and leaned over June. When lightning flashed, Stiles almost passed out again out of worry at the sight of her face.

She was frighteningly pale, and her lips were parted. The blood that ran down her face looked unreal, it was so red in contrast with the color of her skin. It was matted in the top of her hair, and ran down her neck and over her ears.

It made Stiles sick to see her like that. He felt so stupid for not paying enough attention to the road, for not trying harder to make sure she was safe from the crash. Mostly he felt bad for thinking she still looked beautiful even in this state.

He thought back to when June kissed him. How in the moment he couldn't move from shock, but shortly after all he wanted to do was pull her in and kiss her again. He couldn't help but think that kissing June was what he expected kissing Lydia Martin would feel like. He had spent years and years thinking about how perfect it would be to kiss her, so when June kissed him, he was completely thrown for a loop.

It made him scared. It scared Stiles to think that June had embedded herself in his life and the lives of their friends so deeply and so quickly. It scared him that he started seeing himself with her, a girl he'd known all of two months rather than seeing himself with a girl he'd known for years. It scared him that she might not feel the same way.

It scared him looking at her in that moment. She looked so believably dead, and it terrified him. Knowing he wouldn't let that happen, he grasped her shoulder and shook her again. And again. And again, yelling in her face to wake up.

When that didn't do the trick, Stiles thought back to when him and June were in the hospital, leaning over an unconscious Derek. He remembered how June yelled in his face, and also slapped him awake.

He raised his hand up, "I am _so_ incredibly sorry, June."

{+}

My head was snapped to the side, cheek stinging, and my eyes flew open. I blinked rapidly, as there was dust blowing in from all directions. Suddenly, I heard someone call from above me.

"June?" I turned to look at Stiles, and he looked at me like he couldn't believe I was looking at him.

"Why are we on the ground?" I asked him, and he laughed in relief. His hand slid down from my face and rested on my left shoulder, giving it a squeeze. As soon as he did, I screamed out in pain, and Stiles lurched back.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" He asked me.

"My shoulder," I grit my teeth, blinking away tears of pain. "My shoulder, I think it's dislocated."

"Oh, shit. Okay - okay what do we do?"

"I can't do anything, Stiles! You need to do something?"

"What! I'm not a professional, I'm not a doctor, why do you need _me_ to do something?"

"BECAUSE I'M THE ONE WITH THE SEPARATED SHOULDER YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" I roared.

Stiles flinched, "I don't know how to pop it back into place."

"I do," I told him, "I do - I can - I can walk you through it..." The pain was making me dizzy, and the corners of my vision were going black.

"Hey, June! June, look at me," Stiles put his hands on my face, and I'll admit, it felt serene. "June, you need to stay awake, okay? Help me through this!"

"Right, right." I shook my head to clear away the drowsiness. "Okay, I'm flat on my back, so that's better for you, as you're an unprofessional-"

"June that's great and all, but what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Okay," I started. "Grab my arm, and hold it at a ninety degree angle from my body."

He did as I said, but hesitated as I groaned in pain. "Okay - okay then what?"

"You're going to slowly, _slowly_ pull my arm directly away from my body. This is going to move the humerus under the bone of my shoulder blade, and you'll feel it click back into place. You're just going to do this in one move, okay?" Stiles nodded and grabbed my hand and placed his other hand on my forearm.

"Stiles?" He looked up at me.

"W-what?"

"Ignore my yelling, okay? Just keep going."

My yelling was not yelling. It was pretty awful screaming. As soon as it started, I heard a 'clunk' and immediately felt a strong relief. I panted out and looked up at Stiles, and nearly laughed. He looked to be in about as much pain as I was.

"You okay?" He looked at me in disbelief.

"I should be asking you that, June."

"Right as rain over here. Now come on, Stilinski. Help me up, and let's go get your dad."

Slowly, and still weary of my shoulder, Stiles sat me into an upright position. He then guided me up to my feet, and was quick to have his hands on my waist when I stumbled.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked me, and I nodded.

"Of course I am, I'm with you."

Stiles looked in my eyes, and was going to say something when all of the sudden, the lighting around us changed significantly. We looked up to the moon, and saw the eclipse begin.

"We need to hurry, Stiles," I said and he agreed. He slipped his hand into mine, and began pulling me along. We ran, and I tried my best to stay on my feet and not stumble over the uneven pathways. That combined with the wind and my clumsiness was just a recipe for disaster.

Up ahead, I could see the large tree stump. Stiles and I weaved through the large holes in the ground, and stopped in front of the largest hole near the nemeton. Under it, we could hear multiple people shouting. Stiles and I looked at each other, and I nodded. He jumped in first, and helped me jump down as well. When he saw I was down with him, Stiles turned, ran over, and shoved his baseball bat under a collapsing wooden beam supporting the cellar.

"I always said aluminum was better than wood."

Stiles leapt into the arms of his father, who was alive and breathing. I smiled at the sight. For a bit, everything seemed okay. Until Isaac.

"That's not gonna hold much longer," he said.

"Well not with that attitude, Debbie Downer." I told him.

"Isaac's right, though. We need to get out of here," Chris stated.

"But how?" Allison asked, "We all watched the staircase collapse."

Chris looked to me, "Maybe the witch could help here."

I glanced over at him in surprise, "Are you kidding? I've never fought against a storm of this magnitude, before! Nor have I ever gone up against the darach behind said storm's power either."

Melissa shrugged, "First time for everything?"

I let out a huff, realizing everyone was counting on me to get them out of here. I put my hands out, and focused on redirecting the storm around the nemeton. After a bit, I could hear the wind dying down, and the air around us growing quieter. I also felt something drip down from my nose.

"June, are you okay?" I looked up at Stiles, and lost some of my concentration. That was enough to send Jennifer's magic back to where we were at full force. The wave knocked me back into a post, where I hit my head and fell once more into darkness.

* * *

Scott was fighting against a magic all his own. He stood outside the ring of mountain ash protecting Jennifer, and listened to her taunt all of them.

"Like I told you, Derek. Either you or the parents. I guess I'll just have to take them now. In a few minutes, they'll be dead, and I won't need a lunar eclipse even to kill a demon wolf."

Scott wasn't about to let that happen. He put his hands up to the magical barrier, and started pushing. Jennifer looked on, a cruel smile on her face.

"You've tried this once before Scott. I don't remember you having much success."

But Scott didn't listen. Instead, he pushed harder, even though it wasn't budging. He thought about what June and Deaton had said about True Alphas, how they could rise by the sheer force of their own will. Right now, Scott was hoping his will was enough. Enough to save his mother, enough to save Stiles' and Allison's fathers, enough to save Derek. He hoped it was enough to save everyone.

With everyone at stake, he pushed even more. His leg and hands went forward, and Scott could tell by the look on Jennifer's face and the feeling in his bones that something was happening. He got his other foot through, and with a great flash of light, broke the circle of mountain ash. The force of it sent Jennifer to the ground.

"How did you do that?" she asked disbelievingly.

"I'm an alpha now," Scott said, more sure than he's ever been in his life. "Whatever you're doing to cause the storm, make it stop. Or I'll kill you myself, I don't care what it does to the color of my eyes."

"Well, it won't change the color of mine. So allow me," Deucalion said, as he brushed past Scott to claw out the throat of the darach.

{+}

"JUNE!"

My eyes snapped open, and for the second time that night, Stiles was hovered over me.

"Can we not do that again, please?" I said in a tired voice. Everyone let out a breath of relief, and I sat up again.

The wind began dying down of its own accord, and I could see everything that was previously shaking in the root cellar come to a standstill.

"Is it over?" I asked.

"I think so," Stiles answered, then fished his phone out of his pocket. "Scott? Yeah, we're okay. We're all okay," Stiles looked over to me. "What about you, are you okay? Think you can come get us? Great, and um, bring a ladder." We all let out a laugh. I laughed along, and rested my head against Stiles' shoulder.

The next few days were relaxing. I of course, had to go to the hospital, but in a way, I reveled in the fact that it was such a normal thing to do. I had given the last of the healing potions I had brewed to the three parents and Stiles. I assured them that when I was discharged from the hospital I would just brew another batch of them. Ginny and I agreed that we should start keeping them around to have.

Speaking of Ginny, I got home to her having a huge bandage wrapped around her arm. It turns out Jennifer sent her flying into broken glass. I was just relieved that it was the worst damage she received. After she finished scolding me about protecting others before I protected myself, she pulled me in for a hug and told me she was proud of me.

In all honesty, I was proud of me too. I was proud of how I handled my new school, new friends, new enemies. I thought I handled it with dignity (not necessarily grace, but definitely dignity). I often thought about what Stiles told me before he went under the water. About how doing good out in Beacon Hills, and making the friends I made and helping them (even when I didn't want to) was all proving my parents wrong. It was proving the High Priestess wrong, and my ex-coven. I could gladly say that I was grateful to be out here. I mean yes, it still hurt me that I wasn't with my family, but I was finding a family in my friends more everyday.

I eventually told the rest of them how I was cast out of my coven. It was one of those weekends where there was nothing on the agenda. We were all just talking, and I eventually told them all about New York. They were all really supportive of me, and told me that they were past any trust issues they might have had with me.

Stiles had warmed up to me quite a bit. We grew closer, and I finally got to enjoy the friendship I wanted to have with him. It felt nice to not have anyone suspecting me of murder, or just suspecting me in general because I was a witch. I was happy, well, as happy as I could be. I guess should say I was on the mend, both physically and mentally.

My new ability, however, showed no sign of offering me a reprieve.

 _I was running through the woods of the preserve. I couldn't tell what from, but I swore for a second I saw a coyote with bright blue eyes run right beside me. I couldn't stop to look at it though, for my pursuant was close behind me._

 _I started running into the thicker part of the woods, where the trees were wider. I stumbled behind one of the trees, hoping to catch my breath before I started running away again._

 _A short ways ahead of me, I saw a clearing. I went to go look in the clearing, tripping over tree roots in the process. In the clearing was an enormous tree stump. The tree stump that I now knew was the nemeton. Sitting atop the nemeton was none other than Stiles._

 _"Stiles? Stiles what are you doing here?"_

 _"Playing a game," Stiles turned to me. "A game of strategy."_

 _I looked over to see the board Stiles was staring at._

 _"That's not a chessboard though."_

 _"Of course not," Stiles scoffed._

 _I raised my eyebrow, "So then what game is it?"_

 _"Do you want to play?"_

 _"I don't know how."_

 _"If you can't play the game," Stiles said looking up at me again. There was something different lurking in his eyes. "Then there's no point in you being here."_

 _"What do you-" A fly buzzed by my ear before I could finish my sentence. I noticed it was a firefly. More and more of them flew out of the cracks in the nemeton before they flew at me. I tried swatting them away, but they were everywhere. They all landed on me, dragging me down. Over the buzzing, I thought I heard Stiles talk._

 _"Wakare jaakuna majo."_

I shot up out of my bed, panting and covered in sweat.


	19. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: A Brief Interlude**

Stiles Stilinski was tossing in his sleep. Sweat matted his forehead, and his breathing came in short pants. He rolled over onto his back and with an iron grip he grasped onto his sheets. All the while he was doing this, he was whimpering.

"No, no, no," he mewled, "Don't let them in. Don't let them in. _Don't let them in._ "

He awoke to someone banging against metal violently. His eyes snapped open to see slits of light, and he realized he was trapped in a small space. More accurate, he was trapped inside a school locker. Desperate to escape the small space, he started hitting the metal door. Over and over again, he slammed his palm against the locker, when all of the sudden the door flew open. On the other side was June Child, looking confused as ever.

"Stiles, be quiet! What the hell are you doing?" Stiles couldn't answer her, he was letting the fear he had drain from his system, and the adrenaline was taking it's time.

"June? What are - I don't understand, what - what are you doing here?"

June rolled her eyes and held up her phone, "You texted me asking you to come here, dumbass." Stiles cocked his head in confusion, and she raised an eyebrow. "Remember? You said we were going to mess with Scott's lacrosse gear. In revenge for him painting your lacrosse stick a bright pink? Is any of this ringing a bell? And why do you look like you just rolled out of your bed? Stiles! Are you even listening?"

Stiles was in fact not listening. His face was looking into a mirror that was hanging over one of the sinks in the locker room. He saw June's face appear beside his, and she grinned at him.

"Look, you have a very nice face and all, Stilinski, but we have work to do right?"

Stiles looked over at her, completely bewildered. He was about to ask her what she was talking about when his head snapped over to the sound of a crash out in the hallway. Without taking June into much consideration after that, he promptly left the locker room and ventured out into the school.

Walking down the hallway, he ignored June's protests of staying back to mess with Scott, and ventured further out. All of the doors were closed in the hall except for one. Slowly advancing towards it, he heard a rustling behind him.

"Stiles, stop! What the hell are you doing, we need to go back!" June whispered harshly at him. The desperate tone she took was enough to make Stiles look back at her. He noticed she looked terrified, and he put an arm on her shoulder.

"It's okay, look. Just go back to the locker room and I'll be right there, okay?" June bit her lip in worry, and nodded her head. She all but ran back from where they came.

Stiles looked back to the open door and rounded the corner into the classroom. Desks and chairs were slammed up against walls and windows to make room for the enormous tree that sat in the middle of the classroom. Stiles walked towards the nemeton, and reached a shaking hand out to touch it. Before his fingers could be placed on the top of it, a root sprang up and wrapped itself around the entirety of Stiles' hand, as if it was trying to pull him into the tree.

* * *

Stiles sprang up in his bed. He took deep breaths in as he tried to grasp onto the fact that it was all just a dream. From the place next to him, a tired blonde sat up and grabbed his shoulder.

"Stiles, you okay?" Not looking at June, Stiles stared straight ahead.

He sighed, "Yeah I was just dreaming."

"About what?" The drowsy blonde asked him, and she started rubbing comforting circles on his back.

"It was weird, it was like a dream within a dream," He answered, and June's eyebrows scrunched together in worry.

"Like an nightmare," She stated. Stiles looked over at her and nodded. June nodded back at him and tightly squeezed his hand before climbing over Stiles and onto her feet. She headed for the door and opened it slightly.

"Wait, wait where are you going?" She let her grip on the door handle slacken and she turned around to face him.

"To go make you a sleeping potion," She said playfully as she wiggled her eyebrows. Stiles let out a small laugh.

"Is that a real thing, a sleeping potion?"

"Of course," June said simply, "Chamomile tea with some lavender always does the trick." She turned away when Stiles started to panic.

"Wait wait June!" She turned around slightly more frustrated.

"What?"

"Just close the door, okay? Okay, I'm fine. I'm fine, let's just go back to sleep. We can't let them in." June sighed and went to close the door again, and was stopped once more by Stiles.

"Wait a second, June. What are you doing here?"

She opened her mouth to answer when the next thing Stiles knew, a tree root lunged out from the dark doorway and wrapped itself around June's entire leg. It knocked her to the floor in one swift tug, then began to yank her out of the room. Stiles had never heard June scream so terribly in all the time he had known her. She called out his name over and over as she grabbed onto the door frame.

Stiles was trapped in his own bedsheets trying to help her. He couldn't maneuver out of them quick enough, and in his haste he fell to the floor. When he got to his feet, he whirled around to see June digging her nails on the wooden door frame, peeling up the paint and leaving scratch marks. With one final wail of Stiles' name, the tree root successfully pulled her out of his bedroom. Before he could run to her aid, the door slammed shut.

Yanking at the now locked door, Stiles shouted for June. He shouted her name, and he shouted for his dad to help her. Tears were blurring his vision as he banged on the door, and tugging at the locked handle. He was starting to not be able to breathe when the door opened at last. Feeling a breeze on his face, Stiles stopped moving forward. His breathing was still rapid as the breeze grew stronger and tentatively, Stiles put one foot outside his bedroom.

Immediately he felt dirt and dead leaves under him, signaling that he was now outside in the woods. He walked forward in the dark, and he realized he was in a very familiar clearing.

Just as he was thinking it was too dark to see far, lights similar to that of the lacrosse field's started turning on one by one. To his horror, the nemeton was once again in the center of his dreams. Only this time, June Child was laying on top of it being strangled to death.

The tree roots had successfully pinned her down despite her constant struggling. She was writhing under the weight of them, and her breathing was coming out in wheezes. She was suffocating, the tree she worked so hard to help her friends find was now killing her. In her attempts to break free, her eyes locked with Stiles and his trembling figure.

One of her arms broke free, and she reached out to him, "Stiles, Stiles help! Help me!"

"It's just a dream," Stiles muttered, unmoving. "This is just a dream."

"Stiles, _help me please! Please!_ " Each call she made sounded weaker and weaker.

"Get it out of your head, Stiles. You're dreaming! Alright so wake up, Stiles!"

June was sobbing and screaming as best as she could. She wasn't even fighting anymore, in fact, her movements were slowing down.

"Stiles, please. Please, help me!" June cried out weakly. Stiles was crying in fear as he began to hit the side of his head.

"Wake up, Stiles!" He hit his head harder, trying to jar himself awake. June's eyes rolled into the back of her head as her whole body stopped moving.

"WAKE UP!"

* * *

Stiles woke up once more to the cliche chirping of birds and the sunlight streaming through his windows. He slowly started moving around in confusion as he was back in his bed. Before he could think too much of it, his father walked into his room.

"Hey, time to get up. Get your butt to school."

Stiles sighed and did what his dad said. When he got to school, he met Scott and explained what happened.

"And you couldn't wake up?"

They walked down the stairs, "Nope, and it was beyond terrifying. You ever hear of sleep paralysis?"

"Uh - no. Do I want to?"

Stiles gestured with his hands. "Well, have you ever had a dream where you feel like you're about to wake up, but you can't move or talk?" Scott nodded as they walked along.

"Yeah, yeah I've had that."

They turned a corner, "It happens because during REM sleep your body basically becomes paralyzed. It's called muscle atonia. That way if you start dreaming about running, you're not actually running in your bed."

Scott nodded along, "That makes sense."

"Sometimes your mind can wake up before your body does." Stiles said as the two of them ascended one of the staircases in front of the school. "So for the split second you're actually aware that your body's paralyzed."

"And that's the terrifying part," Scott concluded. Stiles scratched the back of his neck.

"It turns your dream into a nightmare. You can feel like you're falling, like you're being strangled, or in my case like you're at the center of a grove of magical trees where human sacrifices took place."

"Didn't you say that June was with you?" Scott asked, worried.

"She wasn't just in both of my dreams, Scott. It was weird, she felt like the only real thing about it."

"Didn't you say she died in one of them?"

Stiles nodded, "In the second one. The nemeton dragged her back horror movie style and proceeded to strangle her in front of me."

"Seems a bit terrible," Scott said as the two of them entered through the school's front doors.

Stiles was quiet for a minute. "No, you didn't see her face. I swear I've never seen anyone look - she almost looked disappointed. She was dying, and I couldn't help her. But the spookiest part about it was that I swear I heard someone else. I swear someone else was saying, 'She can't help you.' I don't know why though, she was the one being murdered by a tree, and it was me not helping her."

"You think it means something?" Scott asked, although at this point it was useless to ask. Stiles always had something in the works.

"What if what we did that night? What if it's still affecting us?"

"Like post traumatic stress?"

"Or something."

The two of them walked into history class together, and sat down at their desks. Scott turned around to Stiles, who wasn't ready to let the subject drop.

"You wanna know what scares me the most?" Scott raised his eyebrows, urging Stiles on, "I'm not even sure this is real."

* * *

Stiles flung himself up into a sitting position, screaming the entire time. His yells did not cease as he was completely beside himself. He didn't even notice when his father rushed in and held Stiles in his arms. His screams turned to cries, and his cries turned to whimpers as he let his father shush him and rock him back and forth.


	20. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Help, my Friends are Seeing Things!**

I could not have felt more out of place.

I shrugged on my tan leather jacket to feel some sense of dressing down, when in all honesty I could not feel more dolled up. I slipped on my black heels for school, and looked in the mirror to check that there was no lipstick in my teeth. I sighed, stuffing a pair of converse in my backpack and then proceeded downstairs to the smell of bacon.

"Morning June!" Ginny turned cheerily towards me, and froze. "What are you wearing?"

"Lydia doesn't believe that I own more than one nice outfit." I mumbled.

"What in the hell does that mean?"

"Like the first day of school outfit I had? Afterwards I kind of stuck to less formal than what she normally wears."

Ginny shrugged, "Well, it is a bit of a downplay from what you have worn in the past." Her tone was too similar to that of a mom who doesn't want to tell her kid that the picture they drew was actually atrocious.

My mouth kept opening and closing like a fish struggling to breathe, "The past also included my life literally being like I was on the set of Gossip Girl _everyday_! Where I went to a private school, and my friends were all socialites! And I lived in the Upper East Side!"

Ginny was cracking up, and I narrowed my eyes at her, "I'm glad you find this so funny."

"It's just - since when do you care? You used to love dressing like that."

"Well that was until I met Lydia Martin, okay? The girl could probably make Victoria Beckham feel like she was wearing a trash bag."

"So this is... some form of retaliation?"

I slipped on the sunglasses I picked with the outfit, "More like, 'Get off my back, Lydia.'"

"You have fun with that." I kissed her on the cheek, and walked to my car.

* * *

"What in the hell is that?"

I brushed off the feeling of people staring as they walked by when I walked up to Lydia, "Good morning to you too, lovely."

"What are you wearing?"

"A skirt." She raised an eyebrow.

"A Tory Burch Jacket, a Burberry tee, a Marni skirt, and _are those Louboutin's?_ "

I smiled, "I told you I could dress nice."

Her mouth dropped, "Okay, point proven. Now after school we're seriously going through your closet."

"Why?"

"Spring cleaning."

"Lydia, it's October."

"I'm taking some of your clothes, June Child. A little socialite like yourself can always buy more."

"In that case, what shoe size are you?"

"A six and a half, why?"

I started tugging off my shoes and thrust them in her arms as I pulled out my Chuck Taylor's, "They were killing me. I haven't worn shoes like that in ages, get them out of my sight."

I laughed when I saw her face. She looked like she was holding the Holy Grail itself. I slid on the tennis shoes and followed Lydia to her locker. She delicately set down the shoes and moved all her books aside so nothing was touching them. She went with me to my locker where I put my stuff down, and took out some books for the day.

Looking over Lydia's shoulder, I saw Allison burst through the doors with her head turned back behind her, almost like something was chasing her. I pulled Lydia closer to her, and when she turned around to face forward, it looked like she couldn't believe she was at the school.

"Allison?" I asked tentatively, "Are you okay?"

She nodded fervently, "I just - I - um..."

"What the hell happened?" Lydia asked her.

She shakily told us she remembered getting into the elevator at her apartment building this morning, but didn't remember getting out or getting to school. Instead what she did remember was the elevator taking her to the morgue, where she was visited by her dead aunt Kate. The next thing she knew, Allison was walking through the doors of the school.

I shook my head, "We need to tell Scott." I started walking away, and she pulled my arm back.

"No, June - just - it could be nothing."

"Need I remind you that you literally have no clue how you got here this morning? You were driving your car in a trance-like state all while seeing dead people. You're lucky you weren't killed! That's not nothing."

Sighing reluctantly, she nodded. I walked out onto the quad to see if I could spot Scott or Stiles anywhere. Seeing Stiles, I was about to walk over to him when I saw him head straight for the new alpha.

"It's happening to you too, you're seeing things aren't you?" I overheard, and I scrunched my eyebrows.

"How'd you know?" Scott asked.

"Because it's happening to all three of you," I answered for Stiles, dragging Allison along with me.

Stiles nodded along, then looked over at me. I suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable under his gaze as he looked me up and down, lips parted ever so slightly. "June, what are you wearing?"

"Clothes," I told him bluntly, "Now back to the matter at hand, you three need to tell me everything that's been going on with you."

Scott started off telling me that all morning he had been seeing visions of what seemed to be a werewolf. Almost like he was slowly but surely turning more and more into a wolf that human. He also explained that he hadn't shifted since the night he stopped Deucalion and Jennifer.

Allison explained to Scott and Stiles what she had seen. That Kate was crawling around and alive in her hallucinations, and that there were lapses where she couldn't remember anything.

Stiles said that he had been experiencing night terrors and they were occurring more and more frequently. He also explained that in these dreams there were multiple layers, but each one had the nemeton. While explaining this, Stiles kept giving me odd looks. His fleeting glances led me to believe he wasn't telling the full story.

The first warning bell rang, and Lydia and I were at the head of the group as we burst through the school doors. She smugly linked her arm through mine, and started gloating to the group.

"Well, well look who's no longer the crazy one!" I laughed at Lydia's taunting, swatting her arm.

"Oh hush, rubbing this in their faces is beneath you." She smirked, but kept her mouth shut.

"We're not crazy," Allison defended, and simultaneously Lydia and I turned to face them.

"Hallucinating, sleep paralysis? Yeah, you guys are fine," she pointed out.

Scott looked to the other two, "We did die and come back to life. That's gotta have some side effects right?" He looked at me, and I was flooded with guilt.

"Uh - yeah. It's like I said, it's a darkness around your heart."

"Yes well this darkness needs to freaking lighten up," Stiles said frustratingly. The bell rang overhead and he added, "We keep an eye on each other, okay?" Everyone nodded, and I started walking to my class. Behind me, I heard, "And Lydia, stop enjoying this so much?"

"Hmm, what?"

First class of this morning was history. I was walking down the hall a little slower so that Stiles and Scott could catch up to me.

"Hey June, you okay?" I heard Scott.

I nodded slightly, "Yeah, I guess I'm just feeling a little bad. I know that the side effects are all a part of what happens after the ritual, but I guess I just still feel a little guilty about the whole terrible hallucinations and night terrors."

Scott cut me off, standing in front of me before I could enter the history classroom, "Hey, listen. You were perfectly clear about what would happen to us if we did the ritual, and we did it anyway. None of us are going to be mad at you about this, June. You helped us find our parents, any side effects are on us."

I looked over to Stiles who was nodding. I smiled at the two of them and pat Scott on the chest, "Thanks, Scott." He nodded and turned around, walking inside. Before I could follow suit, Stiles tugged on my arm and I looked up at him.

"What's up Stilinski?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"For the last time, J.K. Rowling is not in fact a witch and did not exploit the magical world for a good story and money."

"No, it's nothing like that. I just - needed to ask you a question about witches."

I quirked an eyebrow, "Alright, shoot."

"Can witches enter - like - dreams, or other realities?"

I smirked at him and nudged his shoulder, "You dreaming about me, Stilinski?"

"No!" He said all too quickly. The look on my face was enough to get him to give it up. He sighed, "It was not a dream. It was much worse, like a - like-"

"Like a nightmare," I finished and he looked up at me. I gave him a sympathetic stare.

"Well, to answer your question, witches can in fact enter dreams, or people's minds." He perked up, "But it's incredibly specific magic. And I'm not talking like 'say a certain spell and abracadabra you're there.' No, I'm talking years and years of practice. A witch with this ability would have to lower themselves into a trance-like state of their own. Almost like they're on the verge of sleep, where their subconscious takes over."

"So it's a witch's subconscious that can enter someone else's mind?"

"No, I'm saying that's where they have to take themselves. The spell requires them to be in a plane of thinking so close to sleep it's like they're at a door, and just on the other side is like a dreamland. Make sense?"

"Kind of. Can you do this?"

"Fuck no."

"Okay, you don't have to be so blunt about it."

"I mean, my most recent ability is a form of the Sight. Or so Ginny thinks. In all honesty, it doesn't do anything except scare me half to death when I'm dreaming. I'm starting to think I'm not a Seer at all, and that I'm just crazy."

"What if you did develop this ability though, to enter people's dreams?"

I sighed, "Stiles, even if I did, I wouldn't be visiting your dreams anytime soon. At least not on purpose. That level of magic requires years, maybe even decades of time and effort devoted solely to it. I wouldn't have mastered something like that when it only started making its presence known like a month ago. Maybe I was just there as a figment of your dreamland."

"I'm not dreaming about you like that, June." He again said that all too quickly.

I shook my head, smiling. "That's not what I meant. Maybe your mind is trying to tell you to tell me something, or that you're on like a guilt trip." I drew my eyebrows together, "You're not still feeling guilty about the whole 'suspecting me of murder' thing, are you? Because I told you I forgive you for it."

Stiles pinched his nose as he shook his head, "No, no, I'm fine. We've crossed that bridge, already."

"Well then, got anything you wanna tell me?"

"What? No no no." He scratched the back of his neck, his tell. "Nah, all good over here, just wondering if maybe a witch could stop my nightmares."

I kept looking at him, growing more worried. He had this look that read desperation. I felt awful knowing he was so desperate for any kind of answer at this point.

"Hey," I told him, deciding then and there I would try and help him solve this. "If you want, we can look for more information on it back at my house after school? I've got a whole library of books on all kinds of magic. We could see what we pull up?"

He smiled gratefully at me, "Yeah, I'd like that."

I smiled back at him, "Alright, Stilinski. Five o'clock, my house." I walked into the history classroom and sat in the seat diagonal to Scott and next to Stiles. Up on the board was the beginning to the speech President Roosevelt read after Pearl Harbor. A middle aged Asian man put down the chalk, and spun around to address the class.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Mr. Yukimura, I'll be taking over for your previous history teacher," I sighed, thinking of poor Mr. Westover.

"My family and I moved here three weeks ago. I'm sure by now you all know my daughter, Kira. Or you might not, since she's never actually mentioned anyone from school. Or brought home a friend for that matter," I winced at the awkwardness. "Either way, there she is."

It got even more awkward when a resounding thump echoed around the classroom. Turning around to the source of the noise, I noticed a girl's head on her desk. Slowly, she brought her head up to reveal a pretty face was no doubt Kira, due to the embarrassed smile on her face. She gave an awkward wave, and I sucked in a breath through my teeth, totally basking in the secondhand embarrassment of that whole introduction.

"Let's begin with American history at the turn of the 20th century..."

* * *

After school, I followed Stiles and Scott over to their lockers. We were all discussing theories on how to fix this problem.

"Maybe June could cast another spell, or something?"

I raised my eyebrows at Scott, "Seriously? My magic brought you to this state of mind in the first place."

"That's actually a fair point." I nodded, and trailed along behind Scott and an ever-frustrated Stiles as we approached Stiles' locker.

"Maybe we just need a little more time to get back to normal."

"Yeah try not to forget we hit the reset button on a supernatural beacon for supernatural creatures. I think there's a pretty good chance of things _never_ going back to normal." Stiles yanked on his lock for his locker after another unsuccessful attempt at opening it. Scott was peering over Stiles' shoulder as Stiles looked at his lock more closely.

"It's the same numbers on there as they've always been, Stiles." I mentioned, and he looked up at me with worry on his face.

"Yeah, it's just - they're switching up on me."

"Switching up on you?" I asked doubtfully, "Stiles, you're looking at them like they're hieroglyphs." When he didn't deny my statement, I dropped my dubious attitude. "Are they hieroglyphs?"

"I couldn't tell you, seeing as how I can't read."

"You can't read? Do you have dyslexia?"

"No, June I don't."

"So if it's not dyslexia, then is this a side effect?" Again, no answer. "Why didn't you say anything about this to me?"

Stiles looked up, then over to Scott. "Whoa dude, your eyes." I spun over to Scott, whose eyes were glowing red. Scott looked up at us both.

"What about them?"

"What about them, they're starting to glow!" I said quickly.

"What like right now?" I slapped my hand to my forehead.

"Yes, right now! Stop - stop it. Scott, stop!" Stiles said quietly. Scott's breathing started to pick up at this point.

"I can't," he panted. "I can't, I can't control it!"

Stiles and I looked at each other and nodded. "Alright, alright just keep your head down. Look down." Stiles practically shoved Scott's head into his armpit, and I walked in front of the two of them in search of an empty classroom.

When I found one, I wrenched the door open and filed the two boys in. Stiles was busy shutting the door, and I got Scott's backpack off his shoulders as his panic grew tenfold. He tore off his flannel as well and headed up one of the rows of desks.

Stiles and I tried to follow him, but he yelled at us, "No! No, get away from me."

"Scott, it's okay!" I tried to comfort him.

"I don't know what's gonna happen," Scott's eyes were still glowing, and now his fangs were prominent in his teeth. " _Get back_!"

As soon as he yelled that, Stiles put his arm out in front of me and guided me behind his body slightly more. I looked on at Scott in fear, as his claws shot out of his hands. He curled his hands tightly into fists, and grunted out in pain when blood started dripping in copious amounts out of his hands. Scott let out one last growl before collapsing to his knees. When Stiles and I approached him, his eyes were back to his normal brown color, and his fangs were nowhere in sight.

"Pain makes you human," Scott said weakly.

"Scott this isn't just in our heads," Stiles told him. "This is real. And it's starting to get bad for me too." I looked over at Stiles and he looked down.

"I'm not just having nightmares, I'm having these dreams where I literally have to scream myself awake. And sometimes I'm not even sure if I'm ever actually waking up."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked him.

"You know how you can tell if you're dreaming? You can't read in dreams. And more and more these last few days, I've been having trouble reading. It's like I can't see the words, I can't put the letters in order."

"Like even now?" Scott questioned. Stiles stood up and looked all around the room at the many posters with historical quotes on them. I could see he was at a complete loss.

"He can't read a thing," I said aloud.

* * *

Stiles cancelled on me last night due to his inability to currently read. I told him that it was fine, and that he would be bored out of his mind anyway.

I walked up to the school with Lydia, who was explaining to me what happened with her after school activities.

"An arrow at your head?"

"More like almost right through my head."

"What a travesty that would be, to lose the mind of Lydia Martin. I was really betting on people wanting to probe your mind like they did Albert Einstein's." Lydia shoved my shoulder.

"In total seriousness, Allison told me she thought she was firing an arrow at Kate."

"The dead aunt she keeps seeing?"

"The very same. Stiles is right, this keeps getting worse for the three of them. I mean, is there any cure, magical or not that could help them?"

"Well I know that some chamomile tea and lavender will help Stiles sleep better, possibly with no dreams. As for hallucinations, no. Magical or not, these were the cause of dying and coming back to life. We just have to keep them at it, and I bet you a solution will come our way."

"That is far too optimistic for the situation at hand, June."

I grimaced, "I know. Couldn't hurt to try, I guess. Anyways, see you next period." We headed our separate ways.

I sat next to Stiles for Econ, and took out my notebook. At this point I should just call it a sketchbook, because I don't take notes for this class at all. Coach was about twenty minutes into his lecture when I looked over to Stiles, who was furiously jotting down notes.

I leaned over, "Didn't know you found this so riveting, Stilinski."

My smirk dripped off my face when Stiles' writing didn't cease, and he ignored me entirely.

"Stiles, what are you doing?" No answer.

"Stiles, are you ignoring me? Is there something wro-" I couldn't even get the last question out, for it faltered when I saw what he was writing.

All over Stiles' notepad was the same two words over and over, some bolded, some in all caps, some big and some small.

 _Wake up._

I turned around in my seat to look at Scott. Sensing that I was looking at him, he glanced up at me. His body tensed when he saw my worried expression.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Look at what Stiles is writing." He looked over, and his eyes widened considerably when he saw the notepad. He was about to say something when Coach blew his whistle.

"Stilinski!" He shouted, and effectively snapped Stiles out of his reverie.

"Uh huh?" Stiles asked, bewildered.

"I asked you a question."

"Uh - sorry, Coach. What was it?"

"Oh it was, 'Stilinski, are you paying attention back there?'"

"Oh. Well I am now." That earned a few chuckles around the room, but my expression was solidified into concern.

"Stilinski, stop reminding me why I drink. Every night," Coach muttered the last sentence, and continued with his lesson.

Stiles shook his head and glanced over at me and Scott staring at him. "I'm okay, I just fell asleep for a sec."

I shook my head, "Stiles, you weren't asleep." My eyes flickered over to the notepad, and he glanced down at his own doing. Frustrated, he aggressively flipped over the notebook.

* * *

"Okay so what happens to a person who has a near death experience and comes out of it seeing things? Scott asked at the lunch table.

"And is unable to tell what's real and what's not." Stiles added.

"And is being haunted by demonic visions of their dead relatives?" Allison put forth.

"They're all locked up in an insane asylum."

"Insane asylum's not the proper terminology, Mr. Not Helping," I spoke up.

"Yeah, could you at least try to be helpful, please?" Stiles asked. Isaac rolled his eyes.

"For half my childhood I was locked in a freezer, so being helpful is kind of a new thing for me."

"Okay, do we - are we still milking that?" Stiles asked as Scott put his head in his arms.

"Yeah, we are still milking that-"

"Hi." Isaac was interrupted by Kira, the new girl. "Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing what you guys were talking about," We all looked at each other in concern. "And I think I actually might know what you're talking about." When no one said anything, she continued, "There's a Tibetan word for it, it's called bardo. It literally means 'in-between state'. The state between life and death."

"And what do they call you?" Lydia asked in a falsely sweet attitude layered with a 'get out of our business' smile. I gently kicked her under the table, and tried to convey a 'be nice' warning with my facial expressions.

"Kira," Scott said. Everyone looked over to him, "She's in our history class."

"So are you talking bardo in Tibetan Buddhism or Indian?" I asked her, trying to make this whole situation less awkward. Gratefully, Kira smiled, then sat down next to me. I had to scoot over, but seeing as there was no room, I was halfway on Stiles' lap. I tried to take no notice in the small hitch in his breathing.

"Either, I guess. But all that stuff you guys were just saying, all that happens in bardo. There are different progressive states where you can have hallucinations. Some you see, some you just hear. And you can be visited by peaceful and wrathful deities." She said this all too chirpy for my taste. But to be fair, she had no idea that this was possibly a real thing.

"Wrathful deities," Isaac repeated. "And um - what are those?"

"Like demons," Kira answered.

"Demons," Stiles raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Why not?"

"Hold on, if there are different progressive states then what's the last one?" Allison asked her.

"Death, you die."

I dropped the pencil I was holding and put my head in my hands. When the bell rung signaling the end of lunch, Kira bid us all a goodbye, and I turned to Scott.

"Okay, we are no closer to figuring out how to solve this."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Isaac asked, "I mean if the two geniuses over here are stumped, who else could we possibly have to turn to?"

* * *

"It sounds like your subconscious is trying to communicate with you," Deaton guessed. I slapped Stiles' arm, and he turned to me.

"What was that for?"

"Told you so." I stuck out my tongue for good measure. He rolled his eyes and turned back around, following Deaton further into the clinic.

"How do I tell my subconscious to use a language that I already know?"

"Do you remember what the sign language looked like? The placement and the movement of the hands?"

"You know sign language?" Scott asked his boss.

"Is there anything you _can't_ do?" I commented.

"I know a little," Deaton smiled at me. "Let me give it a shot."

Stiles began explaining the motions he had seen in his dreams, and in the end, it became a riddle.

"When is a door not a door." Deaton confirmed.

"When is a door not a door?" Stiles asked disbelievingly.

"When it's ajar," I answered.

"You're kidding me. A riddle? My subconscious wants to tell me a riddle?"

"Not necessarily," the vet answered. "When the three of you went under the water, when you crossed from unconsciousness to a kind of super-consciousness, you essentially opened a door in your minds."

"Okay so what does that mean?" Scott asked him. "The door is still open?"

"Ajar," I corrected.

"A door into our minds." Stiles stated quietly.

"June did warn you it was risky."

"What do we do about it, then?" I asked.

"That's difficult to answer." His eyes squinted.

"Wait a second, I know that look." Stiles said. "It's the look that says, 'I know exactly what's wrong with you, and we have no idea how to fix it.'"

"One thing I do know, is that having an opening like that into your mind? It's not good. You each need to close that door. And you need to do it as soon as possible."

When we left the vet's office, Stiles' dad pulled up next to his jeep.

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

The sheriff rubbed his hands together, "I'm here because I need your help. Actually," he pointed to Scott, "Your help."

"Why me?" Scott asked him.

"Because eight years ago almost an entire family died in a car accident. One of the bodies, a young girl named Malia, was never found. There's enough evidence to get me thinking that a werewolf could have caused the accident, and then dragged her body away." I nodded, remembering how Stiles told me about how his dad was working obsessively over old cases to see if any were supernatural.

"If you could somehow get a lock on her scent? If you could somehow help me find her body, it might provide the missing clue."

"And what if it was a werewolf?" I asked Stiles' dad.

"Then there's somebody out there who murdered an entire family. Someone who still needs to be caught."


	21. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Werecoyotes Can't Read**

"Remind me again why we're breaking into some guy's house?" I said as I tripped in the doorway we were currently walking through. I would have fallen and hit the floor with enough ruckus to ruin the whole operation had Scott and his reflexes not caught me in time.

"We're here to help my dad. It's the least we could do," Stiles whispered, tip toeing over to a bed with stuffed animals on it. We had undoubtedly come into Malia's room, and now Stiles was throwing animal after animal at Scott. Scott took each of them and shoved them in his face, inhaling deeply. I started looking around the room, when my eyes landed on the doorway into the rest of the house and I froze.

"All I'm getting is some kind of animal smell," Scott said.

"What kind of animal smell?" Stiles asked, rushing over to her dresser to see if there was anything else he could give to Scott.

"Rottweiler maybe?" I asked in a quiet and shaky voice. I could hear the two boys turn to me, and we all looked at the Rottweiler staring back at us from the doorway.

"Hi, puppy!" Stiles said quietly then added, "Get rid of it."

"Me?" Scott asked disbelievingly.

Unmoving, Stiles said, "Yes you. Glow your eyes at it or something. Be the alpha."

"I can't," I heard Scott say, and I shut my eyes. "I don't have control."

"Now would be a fantastic time to learn some, Scott. Just throwing that out there," I hissed.

"Okay buddy, well you are just gonna have to try something."

I saw Scott lean forward in front of me with his hands out, slowly saying, "Nice doggie."

Stiles and I collectively sighed, and the dog started barking.

I scoot back to the boys, and we all started panicking.

"Apollo!" We heard from down the hall, but the pup kept barking.

"Apollo, shut the hell up! Shut up!"

With that, Apollo stopped barking. He paused for a moment before turning around and leaving us alone.

We all let out a sigh of relief, and it was quiet for a moment.

"That was close," Scott said.

"I want one," I mused. I looked over to see both the boys staring at me strangely.

"What? I want a puppy. I've never had one before."

Stiles waved his hand and went back over to the dresser, still looking for clues. He handed a book up to Scott to smell, but Scott didn't even bother bringing to his face.

"Anything?" Stiles asked.

Scott shook his head, "All I'm getting is that dog," he said defeatedly. Stiles sighed, before looking back one last time. His eye was stuck on a picture of Malia with her little sister, and he snapped a picture of it with his phone. He then ushered us out of the house, and we made the walk back to his jeep down the street.

We met up with the sheriff not even ten minutes later. He had a forlorn look on his face, and immediately I felt bad that we couldn't find anything for him.

"I'm sorry," Scott started, "I tried as hard as I could. I mean if it wasn't so long ago, I might have been able to do it."

Stilinski sighed, "It's okay, it was a long shot. In fact it was a pretty terrible idea. I think I just ripped a wound open in that poor man. I never should have brought you guys here, I don't know what I was thinking." He opened the door to his police issued SUV. "Thanks for trying, alright? See you at home."

We watched the car drive off down the road. Stiles was looking pretty beat down, and Scott tried to make him feel better.

"Aren't there a lot of cases that go unsolved?" He asked.

Stiles shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yeah I just think that this is one he felt like he could have figured out right now."

"Why's it so important now?" I asked Stiles.

"Well he wants to be able to solve one more while he's still Sheriff," My eyes widened at his response.

"He's quitting his job?"

"God, no. He couldn't quit that job, June."

"Then what do you mean, 'still sheriff?'" Scott asked him.

Stiles told him how Agent McCall was in town to launch an investigation and a possible impeachment of Sheriff Stilinski. All the while, Scott's anger was just barely simmering under the surface.

"Well this is years of drama that I was not around for," I said awkwardly to myself.

* * *

I was well aware that it was well past any normal person's bedtime, but for some reason I could not sleep. All the events that happened today made me want to punch a wall or two. It was frustrating to not have any ability to help my friends with the predicament they were in.

I was a witch for God's sake, why couldn't I? It wasn't fair to them, I put them in that situation, and I couldn't accept that now I had to sit there and watch them endure the aftermath. I got up out of the warm recesses of my sheets, and turned on the lamp at my bedside table. I grabbed the eraser for my chalkboard and a couple pieces of fresh chalk. I cleared away anything and everything that had been written down on the wall before, and I started categorizing my abilities.

Pink was for the elements and what that entailed, yellow was for spell casting, green was for the empath ability, and purple was for the telekinesis. I put them in four separate corners on my wall and in the middle, I put 'Sight/Dream Entering' in red. I had no clue what that ability would turn itself into, so I used red to mark it as uncertain. I began listing all of what I could do in each category and with a blue piece of chalk, I started circling things that might help. Blue because - well - it was pretty.

So far I had about three things circled out of the twenty five or so things listed. I put potion crafting under spell casting, and circled that. Next to it, I wrote 'sleeping drought' for Stiles. Under the empathy category, I wrote in blue 'Send calming vibes to those possibly hallucinating.' Lastly, under the red category, I wrote 'Try to visit Stiles in dream maybe.'

I stepped back from my work, looking it over and over again. I was on my fourth time rereading it when I heard someone at my door.

"Knock knock," I heard Scott say as he opened my door.

"I love it when people say 'knock knock' when they've already knocked and come in," I spoke, not looking away from my wall.

"What's all this?" I heard Stiles, and I turned around to face the two boys.

"I'm just going through what I know about my magic to see if there's anything I can do to help you guys."

Stiles sighed, "June, for the last time, it's not your fault."

"I know," I nodded, "But that doesn't mean I can't try to help you guys. Now your turn. What are you two doing here at-" I glanced over to my alarm clock, "One in the morning?"

"We wanted your help." Scott said.

"With what?"

"Finding a body. A dead body." My eyes widened.

"Malia's body?" I asked, and they both nodded.

"Okay, just let me put on pants or something." As if it suddenly clicked that they were in fact teenage boys, both pairs of eyes dropped down to my bare legs.

"Guys?" I asked. Scott looked up at me, but Stiles seemed to be having trouble.

"Y - yeah?" Scott asked me, and I shook my head.

"Now would be the time where you give me the privacy I need so I can change my clothes."

* * *

I was given flashlight duty. Despite the Stanford crewneck and jeans I had thrown on, I was still shivering slightly. Although it did help that we were walking at a relatively brisk pace. Scott was holding out his phone with a map leading us to where we needed to go.

"You know if my dad's right about this, then there's another werewolf in town that we haven't met yet." Stiles mentioned.

"I know," Scott said, still leading us down the dark trail.

"If it turns out to be something like triplets, that form into like a three headed hound of hell I am seriously not up for that," I laughed at Stiles' remark.

"Your mind would go there," I snickered.

"Me either," Scott agreed with Stiles, "Especially since I can't control my own transformation anymore."

"But you will, Scott don't worry," I tried to cheer him up. We got to a steep hill, when all of the sudden we heard a coyote out in the distance. Stiles, being the ever-jumpy person as he always is, grabbed onto Scott in fear. He also successfully managed to knock the phone out of Scott's hand and send it tumbling down the hill into a puddle. There was a small pause, and then Scott looked back at Stiles with a look reading 'seriously?'"

"Sorry, buddy," Stiles said. "I hate coyotes, so much. They always sound like they're mauling some helpless tiny little animal." Scott jumped down the hill, and Stiles and I stumbled our way to the bottom. Stiles had recovered himself at the bottom, but unfortunately I had not. I practically rammed him with my shoulder, effectively knocking him to the ground. I was left standing, fortunately.

I extended my hand, "Sorry, Stiles." He took it and I hoisted him up. Scott grabbed his phone from the puddle and wiped the water away. He then showed us the still operating screen.

"Still works," He said happily.

"June, can I see the flashlight?" Stiles said, before taking the torch right out of my hands. He pointed it over to a place that was only a small distance away, and lead the group over. "I think we found it."

There was the car, dead leaves sitting on the underbelly of the now upside down vehicle. I could slightly make out the rust that had overcome the sides of the car, and the tires were no longer there, just rims.

"Why wouldn't they move it?" Scott asked, "Isn't it evidence?"

Probably too much of a pain in the ass to tow out," Stiles remarked, looking through the windows to see if anything was there. He stopped when the flashlight landed on long scratch marks.

"Look at this," He stated, getting closer to the car. "See those?"

Scott ran his hand along the scratches, almost fitting them perfectly.

"Coyote claws would be closer together," I stated, "A lot closer together."

"Then it was a werewolf," Scott concluded.

"So my dad was right," Stiles said, giving a small smile before crouching down to the windows of the car. He started peering through the windows with the flashlight before Scott pointed out what looked to be a very small hand.

Stiles reached into the car and stretched his hand towards whatever it was. He pulled out what was now undeniably a child's baby doll. We all stood up, me behind the two boys and we stared at the doll. Just to be extra creepy, the doll was dirty and it's limbs were all in disarray.

Suddenly, the doll spoke out, "I'm hungry."

Stiles and I screamed, and he jumped back into me, effectively knocking me down to the ground. He whirled around, and looked down at me, "Ah, June. I'm so sorry."

"Call it even," I grunted, and pushed myself back up to my feet.

"I think I just had a minor heart attack," Stiles said slightly out of breath. Just then we all heard a fairly distinct growling in the distance.

"Hey, Stiles," Scott reached out to him, beckoning him to come closer. "Please tell me you see that."

I walked over to where Scott was standing, and saw in the dark a pair of glowing eyes.

"Tapetum lucidum," I mentioned. Suddenly the animal ran off, Scott on its tail. Which left Stiles and I alone, in the dark, in the middle of the woods.

"Well, this just got better," I said sarcastically.

* * *

Stiles asked me to wait at the coyote den that we found, and he would go look for Scott. I berated him, told him it was a bad idea, but he ignored me and ran off. Now I was sitting outside, alone, waiting for two idiots to come get me. I heard rustling in the leaves and I readied myself for a fight. I settled down when I saw Stiles come back with Scott. He took him straight into the coyote den, and started explaining everything. I stayed outside and kept a lookout.

I overheard the last of their conversation, "If I can't get to Derek, then we're going to need someone else's help."

"This is a crime scene right?" I asked, peeping my head into the den. The boys turned around and looked at me.

"Yeah," Scott said.

"Well no offense to the man who can do everything, but I'm pretty sure this is out of your boss's league," I told him.

"More my dad's," Stiles said, catching on.

* * *

The crime scene last night turned into a shit show after Scott's dad turned up with Malia's father. Stiles' dad wasn't ready to believe us when we told him that Malia was in fact trapped in the body of a coyote. Seeing as we didn't have any other options when it comes to saving this girl, we were going to take matters into our own hands.

Before class the next morning, Scott, Stiles, and I turned to the experienced hunter that we knew. Allison peered over the iPad with us, looking at the map of the preserve.

"Here's where we found the den. It's right in the middle of the hiking trails."

"That could narrow it down," Allison nodded, "Coyotes travel on fixed trails. But, I think you're right about her not going back to the den. Coyotes don't like wolves."

"And they're really smart," I added on, "If they don't want to be heard they can actually walk on their toes."

"Coyotes tiptoe?" Stiles asked, and Allison rolled her eyes.

"They tiptoe." The bell rang overhead, and Allison took that as her cue to get to class.

"I gotta go, but send me that pin location."

"Okay." With that, we all sat down for class.

"Alright everyone, let's get started. We were just talking about internment camps and prisoners of war. There's a passage in our reading that I'd like to go over in more detail. Who would like to come up and read aloud for us?" Mr. Yukimura asked with a kind smile. When no one raised their hand, he looked over the class.

"Mr. Stilinski, how about you?" I froze in my seat. I wasn't sure if Stiles could read or not still, and when I looked over to his seat my suspicions were confirmed.

"Oh - um - maybe, maybe someone else could," Stiles suggested meekly.

"Everyone participates in my class, Mr. Stilinski."

My hand shot up in the air, "Actually, sir. I would really really like to read this passage." Stiles sent me a thankful glance, and I smiled at him.

"I appreciate the sudden enthusiasm, Miss Child, but maybe save it for next time. Stiles, come on up here." My hand sank down in defeat.

Stiles walked up to the podium and looked over the text. His eyes were going in and out of focus and he gripped the sides of the podium tightly. I tensed in my seat, ready to get up at a moment's notice. His eyes were almost rolling back into his head, and he looked up at the class. I stood up in my seat, and looked over to Scott. He glanced up from something on his desk and froze when he saw Stiles' state.

"Stiles," I asked tentatively, moving closer to him. "Stiles, are you okay?" He almost collapsed forward onto the podium, and Scott and I took that as our signal to move towards him.

I put his arm over my shoulder and slid my hand around his back. I looked over to Mr. Yukimura, "We're going to take him to the nurse," I said, and he nodded quickly.

"Where are we taking him?" Scott asked me when we got outside.

"The bathroom, the bathroom!" I told him. Stiles wriggled out of my grasp and made his way down the hall to where the boy's bathroom was.

He pried the door open and stumbled inside, Scott and I following closely behind him.

"Stiles look at me, man! Is this a panic attack?" Scott tried to get his attention as Stiles walked over to the sinks, gripping on the edges for dear life. His breathing was rapid, and he kept looking in the mirror.

"This is a dream," He muttered. "It's just a dream, this is just a dream!" Scott and I looked at each other, concerned.

"No it's not!" I said. "This is real, you're here! You're here with me, you're here with us!"

When that didn't work, Scott tried something next. "Okay - um - what do you do? I mean like how do you tell that this is - that you're awake or dreaming?"

Stiles motioned with his hand, "Fingers. You - you count your fingers. You have extra fingers in dreams."

Scott held up his hands, "How many do I have?"

When he didn't respond, I gently yelled out, "Hey! Hey, look at us. C'mon Stiles, count with us. How many fingers does Scott have?"

Stiles looked over and began to count each finger that Scott would hold up. Slowly but surely, his breathing grew slower and deeper, and when we reached ten, his panic stopped all together. Stiles slid to the floor, tears welling up in his eyes.

"What the hell is happening to me?" He asked as Scott and I crouched down in front of him.

"We'll figure it out," Scott assured.

"You're gonna be okay," I told him. His eyes snapped to mine.

"Am I?" I was slightly taken aback. Stiles looked over to Scott, "Are you? Scott you can't transform. Allison's being haunted by her dead aunt, and I'm straight up losing my mind. We can't do this. We can't - we can't help Malia. We can't help anyone."

Scott sat down, and looked over to him, "We can try. We can always try."

"Can we try somewhere that is not the boy's bathroom?" The two looked up at me, and I was awarded with small smiles. "I'm serious it is really gross in here."

* * *

Apparently when we had doubled back to Mr. Yukimura's classroom for our stuff, someone had already taken it. Scott ran off to see who it could have been, and about twenty minutes later we saw the police walk by with wild animal gear. Stiles and I went to go find the Sheriff to go see what was going on. When we found him, he was quick to fill us in.

"A couple of students said they saw it running across the field and back into the woods. Thank god nobody got hurt."

"What happens if she does hurt someone?" I asked. The sheriff sighed.

"Most likely they'll have to put it down."

"Put _her_ down." Stiles argued. "Dad, try not to forget that there's a girl in there. One that you'll be killing!" When his father said nothing, Stiles went on. "C'mon, you're not back to not believing are you?"

"You know what? I believe that there are a lot of things I don't understand yet. But that doesn't mean that everything and anything imaginable is suddenly possible. Now are you one hundred percent sure that this is a girl and not an animal?"

We both nodded our heads, "Yes." Stiles said without a doubt. "Because Scott's sure." We looked down the hall and saw the boy in question.

I turned away so he couldn't read my lips, "Scott, have you been listening?" When I turned back around I could tell by the sheriff's gaze that Scott had acknowledged me.

"Alright, let's get this figured out."

Stiles and I backtracked to go get our things out of the locker room. While my bag was perfectly in tact, Stiles' bag not so much. It was clawed up considerably.

"Scott, I think I know what she was looking for." Stiles pulled out the doll from the car we found last night. I punched his arm in annoyance, and he looked at me in disbelief.

"Ow, what the hell June-?"

"Why did you take the doll, dumbass?"

"I thought Scott could use it, you know? For like her scent."

"That doll is not yours to take, Stiles. And frankly, it's a little morbid that you have it with you seeing as how the last person to use died in the same car you found it in."

"Where did you get that?" A new voice asked, and I looked over to see Malia's father walking over to us. "Where did you find this?" He ripped the doll out of Stiles' grasp.

"It belonged to my daughter," he said quietly. The sheriff put his hand on my shoulder pushing his way over to Mr. Tate.

"Mr. Tate, I don't know how you heard about this, if you've got your own police scanner or what. But you can't be here." He started guiding him back, when Tate froze. The sheriff lifted his jacket to reveal a holstered gun.

"I have a permit," Mr. Tate said angrily.

"California schools are gun free zones," Sheriff Stilinski corrected him. "Permit or no permit. You need to leave, Mr. Tate. Now." He beckoned forward another deputy to help him, when Malia's father shrugged him off. He huffed in frustration and looked the sheriff dead in the eye.

"You find that animal. You find that _thing._ " That said, he stormed off.

* * *

"Xylazine," Deaton said, coming into the room with three small bottles. "It's a tranquilizer for horses. For a werecoyote it's expected to work in seconds. But I only have three, so whoever's shooting needs to be a damn good shot."

"Allison's a perfect shot," Scott told him.

"She used to be," Isaac said.

"Hey Negative Nancy, she can do it," I defended.

"If we manage to find the thing."

"Okay what is the point of him?" Stiles pointed an accusing finger at Isaac. "Seriously I mean what is his purpose? Aside from the persistent negativity _and_ the scarf. What's up with the scarf, anyway? It's sixty five degrees out."

"Look, maybe I'm just asking the question that no one here wants to ask: How do we turn a coyote back into a girl, when she hasn't been a girl for _eight years_?"

"I can do it," Scott said.

"You can?" I asked him.

"You remember the night that Peter trapped us in the school?" Scott looked over to Stiles, who nodded.

"In the gym he was able to make me turn using just his voice. Deucalion did the same thing in the distillery."

"So because you're an alpha now, you're going to do the same thing?" Scott nodded at me.

"This is a werecoyote, Scott," Deaton argued. "Who knows if it'll even work if you can even find someone to teach you?"

"That's why you called Derek first," Stiles figured.

"I can try it on my own, but right now I am too scared to even change into just a werewolf."

"We need a real alpha," Stiles said, and Scott looked over at him slightly offended. "You know what I mean, an alpha who can do alpha things, you know? An alpha who can get it going, who can get it-"

"Up?" I said, and Stiles gestured to me.

"Great, I'm an alpha with performance issues." Scott sighed.

"And this just became uncomfortably sexual," I said. "So there's gotta be someone else besides Derek who can help us."

"I wouldn't trust Peter," Isaac said.

"Maybe the twins?" Stiles suggested.

"They're not alphas anymore." Deaton explained. "After what Jennifer did, after almost killing them? It broke that part of them."

"Alright, but what if they know how to do it?" I said. "You don't just unlearn that alpha stuff as soon as you lose your status."

"Nobody's seen them for weeks," Scott said.

"Well actually that's not totally true," Everybody in the room looked to Stiles.

* * *

The next afternoon, I was seated in the passenger's seat of Stiles' jeep. We told Lydia to go find and get help from the Sheriff while we tried to stop Malia from hurting herself in the woods. We had figured it was only a matter of time before Tate decided to try and take this matter into his own hands.

"So are we not going to talk about how colossal of a disaster last night was?" I mentioned, referring to how the twins handled the task.

"What you mean Scott and the twins?"

"I mean Scott getting the ever living shit literally beaten out of him. Violently. By trigger happy werewolves."

"Yeah it didn't go over so well."

"But what's worse is that Scott didn't give in. He didn't learn to control it, so we're just going to go in blind?"

"Not totally, we have a plan."

"Stiles," I argued, "The plan is to tranquilize a werecoyote. Then what do we do? Do we just keep her in someone's basement continually doped up until Scott fixes his performance issues?"

Stiles parked the jeep as we arrived to the preserve, "Okay, I see what you mean by uncomfortably sexual."

We hopped out and made our way over to Scott, Allison, and Isaac. "Does anyone else think we might be doing more harm than good?" I asked my friends.

"We're trying to keep a father from killing his own daughter," Scott reasoned.

"Actually we're trying to keep a guy from killing a coyote, who's actually his daughter, who we don't know how to change back from a coyote back to his daughter," Isaac corrected.

Stiles spread his arms, "And again, with the not helping."

Scott shut his eyes in annoyance, and then looked over to Allison. "Did you bring it?" She nodded and pulled out the tranquilizer gun from the trunk of her car. We were about to go over the plan once more when Scott and Isaac simultaneously turned around. Figuring they must have heard something, I asked them what it was.

"A gunshot," Scott said. This jolted him into action, and he hopped back onto his bike and sped off into the preserve. Isaac took off running not too far behind, and Allison trailed after him.

Stiles called his dad, and I texted Lydia to see if there was any progress whatsoever.

"It took the doll again, what the hell is so important about this doll?" He started listening to his dad, when a look of realization crossed his face. "It's the doll." He concluded before hanging up.

"It's the doll?" Stiles repeated a little disbelievingly.

"Great, Stiles. Wanna clue me in?" He ignored me and squatted on the ground to think. I started pacing.

"Alright but why would she go all the way to the school and all the way back to the house just for a doll? One that was in the car wreck in the first place, not in the coyote den."

"Maybe Malia secretly still loves playing with dolls. I don't know, Stiles! She just likes it."

"Yeah, she likes the doll a lot."

"Well what kind of doll is it again?"

"A Cabbage Patch Kid, June. I don't actually know. It's a doll, it's got little arms, a big baby head, dead soulless eyes... you remember, you were there."

"I was behind you, both times you showed it to me. I didn't really get a clear look at it."

"Actually," Stiles started digging his phone out, "I took a picture of it, here." He showed me the picture that I remember being on Malia's nightstand. Looking closer, I squinted.

"That's Malia, right?" I pointed to the girl in the blue coat.

"Yeah, that's the jacket and the scarf we found in the den."

"But Stiles," I said, "Malia's not holding the doll in this picture."

"That's Malia's younger sister. So it was _her_ doll..." Stiles looked up at me in realization.

"What is it?"

"I know what she's doing. I know where she's going."

Stiles started walking a little farther down the trail. He was currently on his phone trying to call Scott and tell him what he apparently knew. My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out to see a text from Lydia.

 _Just got off the phone with the Sheriff. He told me that Tate's out in the woods with a rifle and there are tons of hidden traps all around the preserve. Be careful._

 _Hidden traps? Like what-?_

Before I could even finish typing the sentence, I stepped on something and heard a terrifying click. I froze and slowly looked down at my shoe, only to see it in the middle of what I now knew to be a bear trap.

"It's like bringing flowers to a grave, okay? And we stole the flowers. So that's all she's trying to do, alright bring the doll back to the grave. The car wreck, that's where she's headed. The car wreck."

"Stiles?" I shakily called out to him, interrupting the message. Stiles hung up the phone and turned to me.

"Yeah?" He tensed when he saw my pale complexion and followed my gaze down to my foot that was about to be stuck in a trap.

"Stiles!" I repeated when the trap sprang up ever so slightly.

"June, don't move."

"Oh my god, brilliant advice, Stilinski," I said quickly. "Got anything else?"

"I don't know what to do. Can't you just magically move the trap down."

"Stiles, I'm having trouble breathing much less concentrating on my magic. I can't focus what - what do I do? Oh my god, oh my god," My hands were trembling and my breath was sweat was dotting my forehead. "Look - look for a warning label or something." I told him, trying to busy my mind.

"A warning label?"

"Instructions on how to disarm it."

"June, why the hell would they put instructions on the bottom of a trap?" Stiles was shaking as well, but I was past caring.

"Jesus, Stiles because animals are incapable of reading!" Several tears fell down my face, and I was too scared to move to even wipe them away.

Stiles noticed my tears and nodded at me. He slowly got down on the ground and looked over the trap for a label. His head cocked to the side and he got closer to what I'm guessing was the instructions. His breath started picking up again and he looked up at me.

"June, we've got a problem," I let out a squeak, and asked, "What?"

Stiles looked up at me, "I can't read either."

"Of course. God, I'm sorry. Totally forgot you can't."

"Why the hell are you sorry, you're the one with a leg on a bear trap!"

"Thank you for reminding me!" My legs were shaking horribly from being locked in the same position. I tried to think, tried to rationalize with something.

"Fuck it, Stiles. Don't read them."

"Are you crazy?"

"No, I'm June," I winced, "Now is so not the time for a dad joke. Look, Stiles. I just mean when is the last time you have ever used instructions, am I right?" He kept looking up at me. "You don't need them because you are way too smart to waste your time with them. Look at me," He did. "You can figure it out. Stiles, you're the one who always figures it out. So you can do this, figure. It. Out."

Stiles wiped the sweat off his lip and set to work. He cleared away some of the loose twigs and foliage behind me, and I stared off straight ahead.

"Okay here we go," I shut my eyes, hoping that I wasn't about to say goodbye to part of my leg. "Ready?" I took a few deep breaths.

"Here we go," Stiles grabbed my hand, pulling me right as I heard him move something on the trap. I hopped out of it and fell into Stiles. Looking back, I saw the trap had snapped shut. Panting, I looked up at Stiles, and he looked right back at me. Thankful, I rested my head on his, and he held me close.

We were like that for a few minutes more, him letting me catch my breath. When I was relaxed enough, he pulled away.

"We should go find Scott okay?" We turned, and in the distance we could hear a distinct roar. I grinned, and heard Stiles, "Now that's what I'm talking about."

* * *

In the backseat of the police cruiser, I watched behind Stiles as Malia was reunited with Mr. Tate. I watched Stiles closely when he started looking in the rearview mirror. I noticed the words saying that objects were closer than they appear, and it looks like Stiles did too. He smiled in relief, and I smiled with him.

"Thank you, by the way."

"For what?" Stiles asked me.

"For saving me from that trap."

"It was nothing."

"It's not nothing, Stiles. We were both under pressure and you figured it out. I stand by what I said, you always figure it out." He smiled at me.

"Thanks June."

"So, dinner on me?"

"Absolutely, you know I did just save your life."


	22. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Devil's Night**

"I'm sorry, Mischief Night?" I asked Stiles, as we walked across the parking lot.

"Yes, June. AKA the best day and night of the year!" I stopped and turned to him.

"Isn't it just an excuse for teenagers to vandalize things?" I looked over at Stiles.

He paused and shook his head in disbelief, "No - what. C'mon, it's Coach's birthday. It is literally the sign of all signs from the gods that we pull pranks."

"You want to pull a prank on the man with by far the shortest fuse I have ever witnessed?"

"No offense, June but you don't know Coach like I do. He loves today, he secretly looks forward to it every year."

"Again, are you just saying this so that you can feel better about messing with this stuff?"

"Maybe." I started walking again, and Stiles trailed after me. "Oh please, June! Didn't you ever do anything like that at your old school?"

"Do I need to remind you that I went to a private school in the Upper East Side? Literally all of those kids had sticks so far up their butts you'd think they were kebabs. What they did was wait until the next day, Halloween, to illegally drink like everyone else does. Except you, clearly."

Stiles started his rebuttal when I looked across the quad to see Scott getting off his bike, and next to him were the two twins who recently turned his face into a punching bag. I seized Stiles' hand and marched him over to Scott.

"June, what - oh. _Oh,_ " Stiles said and kept with my brisk pace to the twins. We heard them say that they just wanted to talk.

"Ah, that's kind of a change of pace for you guys, seeing as how you're usually just hurting, maiming, and killing." Aiden rolled his eyes at Stiles.

"You need a pack," He stated plain as day, "And we need an alpha."

"Yeah, absolutely not," I scoffed. "That's hilarious though."

"You came to us for help, and we helped," Ethan argued.

I awkwardly turned to face Scott and Stiles, looking at them in disbelief before turning back to the twins. "You beat his face into a bloody pulp. Not to mention I'm pretty sure this one liked it," I pointed at Aiden and he scowled at me.

"Yeah and that's not helping," Stiles agreed. "In my opinion that's actually counterproductive."

"Why would I say yes?" Scott said, letting them pitch to us.

"We'd add strength. We'd make you more powerful. There's no reason to say no." Aiden said simply. Stiles rolled his eyes and made one of the oddest faces I have ever seen.

"I can think of one." I spitballed. "Like the two of you holding Derek's claws while Kali impaled Boyd."

"Are _you_ even in Scott's pack, witch? Why are you talking?" Ethan growled at me. I turned to Scott and Stiles, who were scowling slightly.

I smiled, turning back to make eye contact with the _former_ alphas, "In fact, I'm not even sure why we're not impaling them now."

Aiden bared his teeth and growled at me, "Do you wanna try?"

I stepped closer to him and whispered, "Do you need me to get you a ruler?"

Scott pulled me back and Stiles laughed, "Sorry, but they don't trust you. And neither do I." Together, we walked through them and into the school. As soon as we bust through the doors, Stiles was hit with a roll of toilet paper.

"That's my - that's my face!" He said in a 'come on' attitude. He pat Scott on the chest.

"Hey dude, good decision. Good alpha decision."

"I hope so," Scott said.

"No, you know so," I said while ruffling his hair. Both of them stopped at Stiles' locker, and I told them I would see them in Econ. I walked away, and Stiles grabbed my elbow.

"What?"

"Get a front row seat for Coach's class okay?"

"Why?" He grinned deviously. "Okay, I really don't like that look on your face, so I'm just gonna go..." I walked down the hallway, to see people riding on each others backs like they were horses.

"Ugh, public schools," I muttered. I stopped walking when I saw Kira putting things into her locker. I walked over to her.

"Hey, it's Kira right?"

She quickly turned around to see me, and she froze from putting her things in her locker.

"Uh - yeah. Hi, yeah I'm Kira."

"Oh, cool. Well I'm June."

"I know - I mean - hi." She gave me an awkward smile. I gave her a warm one in return and I could see her relax a bit.

"So listen, I wanted to say thanks for all that info on bardo that you were talking about. It totally helped us out a ton."

"Oh, it was no problem! Did you get to see all the printed stuff I gave Scott?"

"I did, after he read through it. It was really insightful, and actually kind of interesting."

"My thoughts exactly!" She closed her locker and I took it as my cue.

I pointed my thumb over my shoulder, "Well listen, I gotta go dump my stuff in my locker, but I just wanted to say thanks again. And also, your whole outfit is amazing."

She gave me a big smile, "Thank you! I love your dress, I would have never been able to pull it off."

I flicked my hair over my shoulder, "Thanks so much! I'll see you around, Kira." I turned around and saw Stiles give Scott a pep talk.

"Okay, you are the apex predator. Everyone wants you, you know you're like the hot girl that every guy wants." Isaac walked over to our group as Scott looked at Stiles.

"I'm the hot girl?" He asked.

"You are the hottest girl," Stiles reassured before walking off to class.

"Save me a seat, Stilinski!" I yelled, and he waved his hand over his head in acknowledgement.

I looked back at Scott, who had a look on his face that said he just had an epiphany of sorts. "I'm the hot girl," he muttered in disbelief.

Isaac and I shared a look before we both turned to Scott. "Yes you are," we said simultaneously, and Scott gave us a huge smile. I walked off, chuckling at how adorable my friends were.

When I dropped my stuff off at my locker and got to class, I sat down between Scott and Stiles in the front row.

"So, what is this thing you want me to-"

"SON OF A BITCH!" My sentence faltered when I heard yelling in the room that was Coach's office. He thrust the door connecting his office to the classroom open, and he strode out. I swear I could almost see the steam coming from his ears. I looked over at Scott, who was smiling a subtle smile. When I looked over at Stiles, I rolled my eyes. He made no attempt to conceal his open mouthed grin and he watched Coach with delighted amusement. It was almost like looking at Fred and George Weasley bask in the glory of one of their many pranks pulled on Filch.

"Mischief Night, Devil's Night, I don't care what you call it. You little punks are evil!" The whole class chuckled, including myself. "You think it's funny, that every Halloween my house gets egged? A man's house is supposed to be his castle! Right, Child?"

"I lived in a penthouse for most of my life, Coach. So, unless you could throw an egg forty stories..."

"I'm going to let this slide because you are literally the easiest student I have ever had." He started yelling again, "But a man's house is supposed to be his castle! And mine's a freaking omelet!" Coach turned back to his desk and picked up a little wrapped box on his desk. "Oh this, we're gonna do this again huh?"

Coach had a slightly crazed look in his eye, as he dropped the box right onto the floor and smashed it with his foot. I winced as I heard something break inside. I looked over to Stiles whose mouth was still open in smug enjoyment. I kicked him gently.

"What was that for?" He whispered.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, Stilinski, it'll stick."

"No can do, June. This is the highlight of my day." I scrunched my eyebrows.

"It's literally eight in the morning..."

Coach bent down to look at what appeared to be a broken mug. I peered over my desk to see a picture of Coach on it and beneath it was the phrase, _#1 Coach._ I inhaled through my teeth. Coach reached for the card that came with the box and opened it.

"'Happy Birthday. Love, Greenberg'."

* * *

Lunchtime rolled around, and I was putting things away in my locker when it suddenly slammed shut. I jumped about a mile in the air and rounded on the culprit. I opened my mouth to yell when I saw Stiles clutching his knees, panting.

"Did you run a marathon before you came over here?"

"Dad - here - looking for - an escaped - convict," He looked up at me through squinted eyes. I widened my eyes and opened my locker again. I pulled out my water bottle and handed it over to Stiles. He chugged about half of it before standing up straight.

"Okay, so what do you want to do?" I asked him.

He downed the rest of the water before handing the empty bottle back to me. I sighed and put it back in my locker, closing the door.

"We're going to go ask him about it, obviously." Before I could say or do anything, Stiles grabbed my hand and lead me down the hall. We walked down a few hallways and nearly ran into the Sheriff himself. He gathered a couple deputies and they were about to walk away when Stiles asked them who was at the school. Stiles' dad quietly spoke to us, explaining that William Barrow was on the loose after waking up from his surgery down at the hospital. He walked away and Stiles dragged me behind them.

"Wait wait wait, _the_ William Barrow? The _Shrapnel Bomber,_ spotted nearby?" Sheriff Stilinski turned around to face the two of us.

"A little closer than nearby, actually." He said lowly. Agent McCall walked by with the school's superintendent and several other agents walking briskly past us.

"How do we get down to the basement?" The superintendent pointed down the hall, and McCall kept talking, "I need to know where every entrance is, I don't want anybody coming in or out of this school." My gaze turned back to the two Stilinski's.

"Dad, what's really going on here?"

"Barrow was scheduled for surgery this morning, when the doctors found a tumor in him full of live flies. He somehow woke up from the anesthesia and escaped the hospital. But not without wounding several doctors. We have reason to believe that he is going to try to kill more kids."

"I'm sorry, kill more?" I said.

"A few years ago, Barrow blew up a school bus with a shrapnel bomb, killing a few kids." Stiles briefly explained.

"And left the survivors without limbs," his father put in.

"But why? Why would he do that?"

"Our reports say that the official statement he gave as to why was because he saw several kids with glowing eyes." Stiles and I turned to each other, our eyes wide.

"Well there's definitely kids like that in Beacon Hills," I said.

"Look I need to catch up with McCall, tell your friends, let them know what's really going on here. Be safe, you two." The sheriff walked down the hallway, leaving Stiles and I alone.

"What now?" I asked him.

"C'mon, we need to go tell the others," Stiles said, and with my hand still in his, he lead me down the hall.

* * *

"Barrow went after kids with glowing eyes, and he said those exact words?" Isaac asked as he, Allison, and Lydia followed Stiles and I down the stairs.

"Yeah, and no one knows how he woke up from anesthesia," I said. "Just that when they opened him up they found a tumor full of live flies," I shuddered.

"Which in any other circumstance would actually be all kinds of awesome-" Stiles remarked and I blanched.

"Did you say flies?" Lydia said, and I turned to see her slightly farther down the hallway.

"Lydia?" Allison asked.

"All day I've been hearing this sound. It's like - this buzzing." She said frustratedly.

"Like the sound of flies?"

"Exactly like the sound of flies," She answered Allison.

We split up to go find Scott, Stiles and I taking off down one way, and the rest another way. Stiles was walking so briskly, that it may as well have been considered jogging. Seeing as how I was shorter than him and wearing a dress, this made things difficult.

"Where did you say Scott was?"

"He's not at our lunch table, and Kira wasn't out there either-"

"Kira?"

"Yeah, we were talking about her this morning."

"Oh, with the whole 'hot girl' thing?"

"Exactly. I told him that he should just ask her out because she would totally be into that."

"Ignoring your assumptions on girls, if Kira wasn't outside for lunch, couldn't she just be with her dad? He is a teacher here."

"June, you beautiful genius." He hugged me and started running down the hallway. Slightly shocked, I was delayed in running after him. Almost running into someone, Stiles stopped and looked around. I caught up to him, and we both saw Scott halfway down the hall. Together, we jogged over to him.

"Hey, dude! Where the hell have you been?" Stiles said as Lydia walked up to us from the other end of the hall.

"The police are leaving. Why are they leaving?" She said, panicked.

"The police?"

"And this is why you can't miss stuff, Scott." I told him. "Do I need to do a 'Previously On' segment?"

"They must have cleared the building and grounds. Which means he's not here," Stiles said, ignoring me.

"Who? What are you guys-?"

"He _has_ to be here!" Lydia said, frustrated. "That sound? The buzzing I've been hearing? It's getting louder."

"How loud?" I asked her, putting my hand on her arm in a concerned manner.

She squeezed her eyes shut before looking around at us desperately. "Deafening," she said quietly.

"Okay, look." I started, "We need to find him before he does something else. Stiles," I looked over to him, "Take Lydia and find your dad before he leaves. Tell him what Lydia told you if you have to, just get him or _someone_ to stay here." Stiles nodded and took off with Lydia.

I turned to Scott, "Alright Scott, let's fill you in. You ever hear of William Barrow?"

"The Shrapnel Bomber?" He asked in disbelief.

I nodded, "Yeah, him. This morning he was scheduled for surgery. When they opened him up they found a tumor full of live flies." Scott made a face, "Yeah, it's disgusting. Anyways, he woke up from general anesthesia and attacked a few doctors, escaping the hospital. Stiles' dad explained that they think Barrow made his way here to kill more students."

"Wait a second, why? Why did he even do it the first time?"

"Ah, I saved the best for last," I said sarcastically. "Barrow gave an official statement saying that the kids he blew up all had glowing eyes."

Scott's eyes widened, "Glowing eyes?"

I nodded quickly, "Now you see why we can't let the cops leave here? Lydia's having a feeling that he's still here somewhere in the school. Call your mom, and see if she can bring down anything that has Barrow's scent."

"A scent? Why?" Scott looked at me funny.

"Because for once, the kids with glowing eyes are going after Barrow."

* * *

Scott pulled Isaac and myself over to a corner of the school, where we were unfortunately not as alone as I thought. Waiting for us were the twins, who conveniently had re-enrolled into Beacon Hills High School today. Scott gathered us in a small circle and started opening the bag that Melissa dropped off containing Barrow's hospital gown.

"Okay, Lydia thinks he's still here even though the cops searched the whole school. But they didn't have one thing," Scott said, pulling out the gown, "Our sense of smell."

"If we're sniffing this guy out then what is _she_ doing here?" Aiden said, nodding his head at me.

"Oddly enough," I hissed, "I'd be quicker to protect you if a shrapnel bomb went off. Seeing as how I could magically create a shield around you faster than your brother could get there to pull you out of the way. Not saying that's what I'd do, but I could."

"She's right. Barrow is expecting werewolves, not witches. He might have plans for us rather than her."

"Besides, I'm an expert at finding things."

"Oh really?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes really," I nodded, "Like a few supernatural creatures just itching to exact revenge on two teenagers who could morph together to form one giant werewolf. Funny how quickly they could get here if I picked up the phone."

"We don't need to go that far, June" Scott said as the twins shared an uncomfortable look. "If you want to prove that we can trust you, then help us."

We all walked down to the basement and split up. I was with Isaac and Scott while the twins walked off somewhere else.

"This is how it's going to be now?" Isaac said looking down a hall, "We trust them?" He wasn't really asking in an accusing manner, more like he was questioning Scott on what to do.

"Just because I'm letting them help doesn't mean I trust them," Scott argued.

"Yeah well I don't trust them either," Isaac agreed.

"Or like them," I added. "In fact, I hate them, and I would totally be okay if I never ever saw them again."

"I just want them to die," Isaac stated simply.

"And there is just years and years of therapy that should probably head your way soon, little guy," I said, patting Isaac on the back.

"If Barrow's here and has a plan then you might get what you want," Scott said darkly. Isaac paused and seemed to consider this. I slapped his arm.

"Ow, what was that-?"

I pointed my finger in his face, "No."

He pouted, "But just a little bit?"

"No," I repeated, and walked to follow Scott.

We didn't get much farther before the fire alarm went off. Looking at the two boys, I nodded and ran back to the stairs, Scott and Isaac behind me. We ran up them and followed the herd of students exiting the school.

I looked around for Stiles and Lydia, but couldn't find them. Five minutes later I saw Coach storm out, tugging Stiles by the ear. Lydia was scurrying after the two of them, and I walked over.

"Pulling a fire alarm on Mischief Night is one thing," Coach started, and Stiles looked like he was having trouble controlling his breathing. "Doing it when there's a mass murderer spotted nearby is _insane_!" He relinquished his grip on Stiles' now red ear.

"If I were four years younger I'd - I would punch you!" The coach continued.

"What? Coach that doesn't make sense!" Stiles argued.

"And why only four?" I asked, sort of amused by this whole thing.

"Oh well it does to me," Coach said sarcastically. "And Child stop smiling!" It only made me smile bigger.

"Come on, Stiles," I said grabbing Lydia's hand, "Let's get you back to Scott."

I walked the two over to the werewolves who were huddled around together. Once I waved Scott down, he and Aiden jogged over to us.

"We didn't find anything," Aiden filled them in.

"Not even a scent," Scott agreed.

"Alright, well it's three o'clock. School's over, don't you think he would have done something by now?" Stiles asked.

"Does that mean everybody's safe?" Ethan asked, walking over with Isaac.

"I don't know," all heads turned to the strawberry blonde. "I just - I don't know."

"Well I do," I defended her, "And the answer is no. Look, Barrow was here, alright? Before anyone gets the idea to discredit Lydia here, we have to remember that Barrow is looking for teenagers with glowing eyes. You all fit that description so for the meantime, keep your eyes peeled. I don't know about you but I'm willing to bet he went nowhere near where the police are headed now. Stay on your toes."

"What do we do in the meantime?" Isaac asked.

I looked over at him, "We just need to keep looking into this."

* * *

I was sat on the floor at the foot of Stiles' bed, and Lydia was sprawled out behind me. I shut my eyes while she gently braided and re-braided my long blonde hair. Stiles was busy pinning up pictures and putting string along his walls, connecting pictures.

"What do the different colored strings mean?" Lydia asked, referring to the pile of different colored spools of yarn sitting next to her.

"Oh just different stages of the investigation. So like green is 'solved,' yellow is 'to be determined,' blue's just pretty." I smiled.

"What does red mean?" Lydia asked.

"Uh - unsolved."

I cocked my head, "You only have red on the board."

Stiles turned to us, "Yes, I'm aware of that, thank you."

Lydia tilted my head back and began a French braid, sighing. "Did you get detention for pulling the alarm?"

"Yep, every day this week. It's okay though, we were onto something." I glanced at Lydia from my upside down vantage point and saw her frowning.

"Even though we couldn't find any proof of Barrow being there?" She continued. I sighed, moving my head away from her fingers and turning on the spot.

"Hey, you have been right every time something like this has happened," Stiles said, crouching down next to me. "Okay, so don't start doubting yourself now."

"No scent, no bomb, and I got you in trouble." I grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"Look, Lydia. Barrow was there, alright? You knew it, you felt it." Stiles reassured her.

"If you wanted us to, we'd go back to that school right now and search all night just to prove it," I said, giving her a small smile. She smiled at the two of us, gratitude shining in her eyes.

Stiles smiled, toying with the sharpie in his face. He froze, and ripped the cap off, inhaling deeply.

"That's not actually good for you," I stated.

"Get up, both of you, now." He ignored me.

"Where are we going?" Lydia asked.

"Back to the school."


	23. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: A Most Shocking Turn of Events**

Stiles, the drama queen that he was, didn't say anything as we got to the school. He didn't answer our questions, just that he would show us.

"Stiles, need I remind you that the last time I was in the school at night I was about to be sacrificed by a dark druid!" I exclaimed. "So please, save the theatrics for another time, will you?"

We walked into a chemistry classroom, Stiles wasting no time in walking over to a closet that stored extra chemicals.

"And the last time I was in a storage closet, I was hiding from a pack of alphas. _And_ there was a dead body inside!"

Stiles rounded to me, "Oh my god, and _I'm_ the dramatic one?" I scowled at him as he shook his head, muttering, "Unbelievable."

"Alright then, what are we doing here?" Stiles had turned back to the storage closet and opened it.

"That was supposed to be locked," Lydia stated.

"Yeah, I know," Stiles said. "Notice anything else?"

"It smells like chemicals." Lydia said.

"Hang on," I said, coming to the conclusion Stiles reached back at his house. "When I was locked in the storage closet with Allison she knocked down a bottle of ammonia. The smell was so strong I couldn't smell anything else."

"Werewolves wouldn't have been able to catch a scent," Lydia stated. Stiles was browsing through the shelves of chemicals with the flashlight on his phone.

"Nope," His gaze fell down to the floor, and he turned around. Shining the light on the linoleum, we saw blood smeared on the floor along with staples scattered alongside it.

"He was here," Stiles said, "Performing very minor surgery on himself."

"So unsanitary," I said, wincing at the thought of someone literally stapling their stomach together. "But you were right, Lyds."

"Then why don't I feel good about this?"

"Probably because he was here to kill someone," Stiles stated.

"But _who_?" Lydia and I said together.

"That's what we've gotta figure out," Stiles stood up and exited the closet. Lydia and I followed behind him into the classroom.

"Okay spread out, start looking for anything." He instructed, heading to the windows, Lydia headed over to the door, and I headed to the teacher's desk that stood in front of the rest of the lab tables and a chalkboard. Glancing up at the board, I saw three numbers written on it: 19, 53, and 88.

"Guys," I said, motioning for them to come over to where I was.

"What are those?" Stiles asked, seeing the board.

"Atomic numbers," I said.

"Is it a formula?" Stiles looked at the three numbers more closely. I picked up a piece of chalk, shaking my head.

"Not really, nineteen's potassium, fifty three's iodine, and eighty eight's radium."

"The first two make potassium iodide," Lydia input.

"Right, but I doubt this was put up here for a chemistry class." I started writing out the chemical symbols for each, to see if that could put a new perspective on it.

"Wait, potassium is K?"

I glanced over at Stiles, "From kalium."

"Or the scientific Neo-Latin name," Lydia further explained. I looked over to her.

"Please I am begging you, marry me." She smirked, and I turned back to the board and wrote out the rest.

"I for iodine."

"What's radium?" Stiles had a slightly concerned tone.

"Ra." We all took a step back from the board in realization.

"Kira," Stiles read out in confusion.

* * *

"Okay, Scott's not answering his phone," I said from the passenger's seat in the jeep. We were currently breaking several traffic laws in attempt to get over to Kira's house, where Stiles said that Scott was going to be for dinner.

"How about Kira?"

"I don't have her number, Stiles."

"But I just saw you talking to her today!"

"Right, because that means I have her phone number!"

"Okay, what about her dad's phone number?"

"What am I, the yellow pages? Why in the hell would I have _his_ phone number, and _not_ Kira's?" Stiles shrugged, his hands spazzing out.

"I don't know! You're really smart and he's really smart, I just figured-"

"No you didn't!"

"Okay fine, it was a leap."

"Stiles it was more like you were jumping across an ocean with that assumption. Also how do we even know where we're going?"

"Oh, I have Kira's address." My eyebrows shot up.

"You have her address." He nodded and I knew he was avoiding my judgmental gaze, "Why do you have her address?"

"Because Scott's into her and I thought I'd do a little recon digging for him, see if there's anything fishy about her."

"Okay one: that's incredibly terrifying; two: do you know what personal space is; and three: how did you even get her address in the first place?"

Stiles scoffed, "Please, June. My dad's the sheriff."

I laughed mirthlessly, "Oh great! Well if that's your excuse, then why don't you have their phone numbers?"

"Why would I have their phone numbers?"

"Why wouldn't you? Your dad's the sheriff!" I said in a mocking tone.

"Okay I'm sensing a little bit of sarcasm here," Stiles said.

"No fucking shit!"

"Can the both of you please shut up?" I jumped in my seat, completely forgetting that Lydia was in the back. "I swear to god, you both need to check into reality once in a while."

"If you're suggesting that me being right is a figment of everyone's imagination then I am absolutely appalled at your insinuation. I am right 94.7 percent of the time."

"What - what about the other percentage?" Stiles asked, a bit thrown off.

"The other percentage is reserved for questionable life choices, like why I ever decided to befriend a sheriff's kid who wouldn't know boundaries if they slapped him upside the head!"

Stiles turned a corner, "You know what, June-"

"Stiles, stop!" Lydia yelled out, and Stiles slammed on his breaks. Unfortunately the seatbelt I was wearing was rather ancient, and didn't lock immediately. My head slammed up against the dashboard.

"Oh, my god." Stiles said, "June! Are you okay?"

"Well that was a little bit of deja vu," I mumbled, rubbing my head. I looked up, and saw why Lydia made us stop.

"Oh my god, Scott!" I yelled, hastily unbuckling my seatbelt and hopping out of the car. Stiles was quick to follow, and we knelt down next to him. He had a bloody gash on his forehead, and while Stiles worked on waking him up I ran back to the jeep to get my bag containing some healing potions. Taking one for my head, my face puckered at the overly lemon taste. Hearing Stiles yell at Scott, I took another potion and ran back to the unconscious boy in the middle of the street.

"Scott!" Stiles yelled, and Scott sat up, blinking away the daze.

"Barrow! He - he took Kira!" Scott exclaimed as I helped him stand up, handing over the healing potion. He took it gratefully.

"We know, he was after her the whole time," Stiles said.

"But why? She's not - she's not like us!" Scott said with a frustrated tone.

"That we know of," Lydia remarked.

"Okay thinking about what she is isn't going to save her any sooner, alright?" I reasoned. "Lydia, didn't you say that Allison was going over the bestiary for anything on this?"

"Isaac went to go help her, let me call him." Scott whipped out his phone and rushed into explanation. Just as quickly as he called him, Scott hung up.

"We have to think of something, he's gonna kill her!" Scott said.

"I knew he was there," Lydia said in a defeated tone, "How did I know that?"

"Because you heard the flies, right?" Stiles asked.

"What do you hear now?" Scott asked her, desperate for any clue.

She sighed, "Nothing. I feel like I can do this, but I don't know what to do." She was growing more and more frustrated, "It's like - it's like it's on the tip of my tongue, and I don't know how to trigger it!" She threw her hands up to her face and turned away from us. "I swear to God, it - it literally makes me want to scream."

"Alright then scream." I offered. "Don't fight it anymore Lydia just scream."

And she did. Stiles threw his hands up to his ears while Scott and I winced and leaned a bit back. When she was done, her whole body tensed. She looked up at the lamppost and then she whirled around, causing the three of us to flinch slightly at her sudden movements.

"It's not flies. It's electricity!"

"Wait a second, Barrow was an electrical engineer. He worked at a power substation," Stiles said.

"What substation?" Scott asked and Stiles pulled out his phone. When he found the location of the substation, Scott ran over to his bike and sped off. Lydia, Stiles, and I all hopped back into the jeep and took off in the same direction. On the ride there I called Sheriff Stilinski, informing him of Barrow's whereabouts and that he took Kira.

When we got there, Scott was off his bike and running inside.

"Okay Lydia, June wait here. Wait for the cops to come." Stiles ran around to his trunk, pulling out a bat.

"Why?"

"Well I only got one bat," He held it up.

"An aluminum bat against a psychopath who doubles as an electrical engineer? I don't think so, I'm coming with you." I said, hopping out of the car. I turned back to Lydia, "For real though, you should wait here for the police. Make sure someone greets them at the door if we can't."

Stiles and I ran inside the empty building. Correction: the _large,_ empty building.

"We can't cover enough ground if we don't split up," Stiles said, "I'll go down this hallway, you go down that one."

I hated splitting up in this kind of situation, but I knew he was right. "You yell as loud as you can if you need me."

"Of course," Stiles said. He must have been really hyped up on adrenaline or something, because the next thing I know, Stiles kissed my cheek.

"You be careful too, June." And without another word, he took off running.

Before I could freeze up from giddiness, I reminded myself why we were here. I ran down the other hallway, and as I neared the end of it, I heard yelling.

"She's not the one you want!" I heard Scott yell out. When I got to the room at the end of the hall, I saw Scott on the ground twitching and spazzing considerably. The man who was no doubt William Barrow was stalking towards a tied up Kira. I ran in and went over to Scott, crouching to make sure he was alright.

Barrow crouched down to Kira's level, and put his hand that wasn't holding a gigantic sparking cable on her face. Before I could make any move, he pushed the cable to her when something happened.

In a split second, the end of the cable seemed to surge, and it sent electricity flying everywhere, Barrow with it. In that moment, I threw a shield around Scott and I to protect us from the initial blast. I threw one around Kira as well, but I soon saw that was irrelevant. Soon, all the electricity that had exploded from all around us was racing towards where I knew Kira to be. Scott and I watched in awe as we saw Kira standing up, sucking up the sparks and absorbing it into her bare hands.

When it was all over, I looked up at Kira's face. To be fair, she looked just as surprised as Scott and I did, and stared at her hands. She looked up at the two of us, and nodded, letting us know it was okay to move. I lowered the shield around Scott and I, and stood up.

"Well I have to say," I breathed out, smiling "That whole thing was a real shocker!"


	24. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Black Lights and Almost**

"Alright let's go over this again, shall we?" Agent McCall started. The five of us were currently seated in Sheriff Stilinski's office with the sheriff and Scott's dad facing us. "So when did you get there?"

"At the same time," Stiles answered, neglecting to leave any sarcasm out of his tone.

"The same time as who?"

"The same time as me," Scott answered.

"By coincidence?" McCall raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean coincidence?" I asked the agent, deciding to play along.

"That's what I'm asking you. The three of you arrived at the same time, was that coincidence?"

There was a pause. "Is he asking me?" Scott said.

"I think he's asking me," Stiles corrected.

"Most likely it was me he was asking," I told them.

"I think he's asking all three of you," Lydia said from next to me, annoyed.

"Let me answer the questions," Agent McCall said to get us to shut up. There was a pause, and we all smiled at him. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Let me _ask_ the questions. Just so I have this absolutely clear," He started flipping through his notepad, "Barrow was hiding in the chemistry closet at the school. Someone left him a coded message on the blackboard telling him to kill Kira. Then Barrow took Kira to a power substation, and tied her up with the intent of electrocuting her. Which blacked out the entire town."

"Nailed it," I told him.

"How'd you know he'd take her to a power substation?"

"Well because he was an electrical engineer, so where else would he take her?" Stiles said, scratching his head.

"That's one hell of a deduction there, Stiles," McCall said, not believing him in the slightest.

Not missing a beat, Stiles grinned, "Yeah what can I say, I take after my pops, he's in law enforcement," He looked over to his dad, winking and pointing at him. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the teensiest bit attracted to him in that moment.

Stiles' father chuckled, and quickly disguised it as coughs when Scott's dad turned to give him a pointed look.

"Stiles, just uh - just answer the man."

"We made a good guess," Stiles said.

"What were the two of you doing?" McCall glanced to his son and Kira.

"Eating sushi," Kira said.

"Eating pizza," Scott said at the same time. They looked to each other.

"Eating pizza," Kira tried again.

"Eating sushi," Scott said simultaneously. They rolled their eyes and sighed.

"Eating sushi and pizza," They corrected together.

"Do you believe this?" McCall asked the sheriff.

Stilinski waved his hand, "To be honest, I haven't believed a word Stiles has said since he learned how to speak," I had to put a hand over my mouth to stifle my laughter at Stiles' disbelieving face. "But I think these kids found themselves in the right place at the right time. And that girl sitting there is very lucky for it."

"Kira," Agent McCall tried again, "Is that how you remember it?"

We all looked over at her curiously as she looked around the room. She nodded her head slowly and said, "Yes. Can I get my phone back now?"

"Sorry, but no. It's evidence. We'll call you guys if we have more questions. In the meantime go home, it's late."

Stiles, Lydia, and I all filed out of the sheriff's station and into the blue jeep.

"That was probably the worst first Mischief Night a girl could experience," I said, filling the tired silence. Lydia rolled her eyes and Stiles smirked.

"Next year's will be better, I'm sure."

I scoffed, "Yeah right. Like I'd ever take part in Mischief Night after today's events."

"You never know, there's an entire year to change your mind."

We pulled up to Lydia's house and I got out of my seat to help her get out of the back.

"Lydia, please do not leave me alone with him," I sarcastically begged.

She smiled at me, "I'm sure you don't want me third wheeling on your little car ride."

"Third wheeling...?" My mouth dropped open at the strawberry blonde climbing up the steps to her front door. "Lydia!"

"Good night, June!"

Sighing, I got back in the car. I put on the seatbelt and pulled out my phone to text Ginny that I was on my way back home. My eyes widened.

"Jesus, is that really the time?"

Stiles looked over at me, "What did you think it was going to be?"

"Honestly, much later," I said in a relieved tone, "Ugh, I get to sleep tonight! Praise the lord." I turned to look at Stiles, "Speaking of sleep, how have you been holding up? Are the nightmares gone?"

Stiles shifted in his seat, "For the most part, I guess. I mean, they're still occasionally there, but I'm thinking that has more to do with post traumatic stress than anything else."

My gaze turned to one of worry as I looked at him. He tried to play it off so casually, like him being haunted in and out of his sleep wasn't actually a concern. He gaze flickered from the road over to mine.

"Hey, really it's not a big deal okay? I'm working on it. Besides, we should be more worried about the fact that Kira saw you use your magic."

"I don't think she'll tell anyone," I told him, letting the subject drop for now.

"Why wouldn't she? We don't know for sure."

"I know you missed it but I used my magic the same time Kira absorbed all of the town's electricity through her fingertips like a sponge. She's not going to be saying anything to anyone for a bit." I explained.

"Fair point," Stiles agreed as he pulled up to his house. He cut the engine and we hopped out together.

"Hey," I started, "You did a great job tonight."

"It was nothing."

"Just shut up and take the compliment, Stilinski." He smiled at me, "I mean it, you were fast on your feet tonight, and we wouldn't have solved this as quickly as we did without your help."

"Thanks, June."

I smiled at him and turned to walk across the street to my house, "You know, you'd make a phenomenal detective one of these days."

* * *

I walked down the stairs to the smell of pumpkin pancakes. Ginny had spent all of yesterday (so she tells me) on Pinterest looking for the best recipe when it came to making pumpkin pancakes, as she wanted to have a nice holiday with me. She then proceeded to scowl and smack me upside the head when I asked her what it was exactly she did for a living.

"Happy Halloween, June! Breakfast is on the - holy hell what are you wearing?"

"A witch's costume, Gin."

"Sure, if the witch was going to a rave. Are you allowed to show that much leg at school?"

"Even if I wasn't, I'd love to see them try to send me home. I'm literally their best student, and have never caused them any trouble. Plus, I only have like four classes today, I'm not going to be there very long."

Ginny sighed and shrugged, "Are other kids going to be wearing costumes like that at school?"

I scoffed, digging into the delicious pancakes, "Ginny, it's Halloween at a public school, what costumes _won't_ be worn?"

It turns out all of the costumes will not be worn. People were not wearing anything remotely close to costumes at all. It was Halloween for crying out loud! I did get plenty of stares as I walked down the hallway in my black dress topped with a cheap witch's hat that I found at a Party City. Deciding to completely own today, I walked down the hall with my head held high, sparing a few scathing glares at the people who I heard whistling.

I ended up behind Coach Finstock, who was holding a megaphone in his hand, walking through the darkened hallway.

"Class starts in five minutes! Just because there's no power, don't expect there to be no school!" Coach said walking past Stiles, who was busy putting his books away in his locker. I stopped behind him so he wouldn't see me.

"That's a triple negative, very impressive Coach."

I smiled when I heard a "Copy that" down the hall. Stiles, still not noticing me, started looking down at a key on his key ring.

"Boo!" I yelled, and he squealed, whirling around. His keys dropped to the floor, and he bent down to pick them up.

"Jesus, June! Why did you - oh holy leg." I smiled at him as his eyes froze on the way up to my face. His mouth was opening, like he was talking to me, but no words were coming out.

"Eyes up here, Stilinski!" I snapped in a mocking tone.

"Right, right," Stiles almost fell over trying to stand up so fast. "Whoa, head rush," He said as he blinked rapidly. His eyes landed on my hat, and he sighed. "A witch, June, really?"

"Happy Halloween! Why is nobody dressed for it?"

"Because it's just Halloween? The parties aren't until later."

"But it's still Halloween! It's still a big deal, and I'm a little lost as to why no one seems to think so."

"Beacon Hills is more about Mischief Night at school than they are Halloween." Any good mood I was in vanished in an instant.

"I hate this place. I hate this school, what is wrong with you guys?"

"Says the girl dressed up as a witch who is an actual witch! You might as well start casting spells on everyone and reveal to them that you have magic powers!"

"You didn't seem to have a problem with my costume a minute ago, Stilinski! Especially when you wouldn't stop staring at my legs!"

As if on cue, his eyes flickered down to my legs again, then back up to my face. He was trying to come up with a witty retort when we heard the doors to the school open. Looking around, we saw Scott. We waved at him, but he wasn't even staring at us. Instead, we looked to see that he was staring at Kira, who briskly turned around and walked away. Stiles nearly knocked me to the ground trying to intercept Scott, who was trying to go after her.

"No, no, _NO!_ Stop it, just - stop it."

"What, I need to talk to her!"

"No you don't, you need to remember that someone left a coded message telling Barrow to kill her."

"Which is why I need to talk to her."

"Scott, no way! Until we figure out that she is just another psychotic monster that's going to start _murdering_ everybody, I vote against any and all interaction."

"But what if she's like me?"

"That girl walked through 1.21 jigawatts of electricity. She's not like you."

"I for one, don't think you should listen to Doc Brown over here," I said, pointing my thumb at Stiles.

"What - June! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Okay first of all, there is no side! Second, you all thought I was a psychotic monster that was murdering everybody and look at how well that turned out."

"Yeah but you're you, we don't know her." Stiles said.

I raised my eyebrow at him, "You didn't know me either!" I turned to Scott, "All I'm saying is to give her the benefit of the doubt. Just talk to her later, okay? Watch her, see what she does, then go to and talk to her."

I walked away to my first class of the day, and saw Danny come out of the locker room. I walked up to him.

"Danny!" I yelled in excitement. He looked around and his eyes fell on me.

"Hey, June. Getting into the Halloween spirit, I see."

"Yes well apparently I'm the only one. Anyways, I just wanted to say that I'm totally free after school if you needed any help setting up for your black light party?"

Danny's expression went from amused to crestfallen, "That's so awesome of you, June, really. Unfortunately the venue cancelled on me due to the power outage."

"But black lights don't need that much power," I said.

"That's exactly what I told them! But they're not listening. For now, it's a no go. Thanks anyway, June." Together, we walked to our anatomy class. We walked in, and my usual spot next to Lydia was taken by none other than the werewolf with extreme anger issues. I rolled my eyes, and took a spot behind Lydia next to Danny.

While I was taking notes, I tried to tune out the hushed discussion Lydia was having in front of me with her - could Aiden even be considered an ex? They weren't technically dating. Soon after Lydia turned away from him, Aiden turned in his seat to the two of us.

"I think I know a place where you can have your party," He said. Bewildered, I looked over at Danny, who looked at me excitedly.

* * *

I was walking to my car, giving Danny a ride when Stiles ran up to me. I gave Danny the keys to my car. "Can you go start my car for me?"

"Depends, do I get to pick the music?" I smiled at his smirk.

"Sure thing. But if there is any Disney Channel songs or some bullshit I'm making you walk," He walked off, and I turned around to see Stiles.

"What's up?"

"What are you doing?"

"I promised Danny I'd give him a ride to Derek's. I'd also promised him I'd help him set up for his black light party."

"Derek is letting you guys throw a party in his loft?"

"Now that, I'm not entirely too sure about, so I'm also going over there to double check that no one dies. What did you need?"

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to come over to my house. I got access to an RFID emulator and I needed to make a few copies of cards to get into the sheriff's station."

I blinked, "You know, about what I said last night about you being a good detective. I don't know if I should take that back in favor of telling you that you would also make a great criminal."

The sarcasm in my voice went right over Stiles' head, "That is actually so nice, really?"

"Why are you making copies of key cards for the police station, Stilinski?"

"Oh right, I'm helping Scott and Kira break in to delete some naked pictures off of Kira's phone."

My eyes widened, "Gotta say I had no idea she had it in her. But I am proud of you, Stiles."

"What? Why are you proud of me?"

"For giving Kira the benefit of the doubt, you know? It sucks feeling like nobody trusts you. Plus that girl has about as much of an idea as to what she is as we do. She'll need all the help she can get. Anyways, you should stop by the party, if you get a chance. I'd love to get you drunk."

Stiles scrunched his eyebrows, "What?"

My cheeks burned, "I mean - because you know, it'd be funny to see you drunk. You're already a bit of a spaz as it is, I'd love to see what a drunk spaz would look like."

"I'm not sure if I take offense to that or not."

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go." I scurried off to my car, and got in the drivers seat.

"You totally like him," Danny smirked at me.

"Shut up, Mahealani." I drove out of the parking lot, and the entire time I could still feel Danny's patronizing gaze on me. "Fine, more than I care to admit."

Danny cooed the entire way to my house, "Alright, you know what? I'm taking double the time to get ready."

"That's fine, you told me Ginny's a phenomenal cook."

"Yeah, yeah, she's fucking amazing," I grumbled as I unlocked the door to my house.

"Ginny," I yelled, "Danny's here! I'm going to go get ready for the party!" I stomped up the stairs and rolled my eyes when I heard Ginny ask if Danny was hungry.

It didn't take me as long as I told Danny it would take for me to get ready. My hair was already styled from school today, and my makeup looked fine. I really only needed to paint my nails a neon color for the black lights to make it pop. When they were dry, I headed to my closet and grabbed my newest white converse, certain they would glow flawlessly.

I headed downstairs and saw Danny already seated in front of dozens of different Halloween treats. My eyes widened in horror when I saw more food on the counter.

"Jesus, Ginny, are we hosting Beacon Hills for a dinner?"

"Ha ha, I can hardly breathe for laughing. I'm going over to one of the local shelters with most of this food anyways. Love your shorts, but isn't it going to be cold?"

I glanced down at my outfit, "Good thing we'll be indoors. Danny, ready?"

I glanced over to my friend, and rolled my eyes when I saw that his mouth could barely close with all the food he had stuffed in it. Tugging him by the arm, I ushered him over to the front door. Not before I snagged a few treats myself.

Danny and I then headed to the nearest art supply store and bought up their entire stock of paint that glows under black light, as well as some paintbrushes and cups to put the paint in.

We arrived at Derek's loft, and just like the twins said, it was empty. I pulled Ethan aside, and asked him if Derek was okay with this.

"Not really, we didn't ask him. He just said he'd be gone for a few hours so we figured it would be fine."

I nodded, "Okay." I watched as Aiden moved the generator outside while Danny put up the last of the lights.

"What, no lecture? No threat?" I looked over at Ethan again.

"I'm not a snitch. If Derek's not going to be here then what's the harm? I think we could all take a breather, and I don't think either of us want to disappoint Danny."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm actually a very nice person, okay?" I argued, "Just don't threaten my friends again."

"Where did you say the guy was who lives here?" Danny asked.

Ethan and I shared a look. "Out of town," he answered and Danny nodded. We gave Aiden the thumbs up, and he started the generator. Ethan went over to the black lights, and switched them on. Immediately, everyone was surrounded in a wicked glow. My shoes had effectively lit up, and so did my nails.

"Oh yeah," Danny said, grinning.

* * *

I easily took back what I said about hating this town. How could I hate it when everyone around me was sending out positive vibes to everybody else in the room? I was also a little bit drunk, but it helped me relax.

Everyone came full force. People brought solo cups that glowed under the lights, even the alcohol was glowing. The people painted themselves as Halloween characters, like a neon orange skeleton, or a dragon, or even voodoo dolls. Girls brought in neon makeup, and that was how I ended up with neon blue lipstick painted on me, and orange eyeliner on my eyes. About four drinks in, Danny had convinced me to get my legs painted. So I stood there, furiously blushing while some attractive guy I had never seen before got up close and personal with my legs, painting green and yellow swirls all over them.

Currently I was about six drinks in, and was in the center of the dance floor having a blast. I was stumbling, and I didn't care in the slightest. It was warm, my legs were glowing, I was a happy drunk, and the only thing that could have made it better was -

"Stiles!" I said happily, stopping my dancing and walking over to where I saw Scott, Stiles, and Kira walk in. I made my way over to them, and giddily hugged Stiles.

"I'm so glad you're here!" I yelled over the music. I kissed his cheek, smiling when I saw the blue lipstick leave a mark on his cheek. His eyes widened at me, and I laughed.

"You should come and dance with me," I said, walking back to the dance floor. Smiling, I turned back around to see Stiles dodging people to catch up to me.

We danced for what felt like hours. It wasn't even dirty dancing or anything like that. It was mostly Stiles breaking out the dad-like dance moves (I'm certain a sprinkler or two were thrown in there), and me just swaying along to the beat. I laughed at him, and all the while felt giddy that he hadn't tried to remove the lipstick stain from his face.

After awhile, I told him that I was going to go find us some drinks. He told me to meet him by the spiral staircase. I went to the drink table, now expertly avoiding people, and grabbed two beers. Walking away, I found Stiles exactly where he said he would be. I walked over, holding up the drinks, and he raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement.

"I would open these with my magic, but honestly I don't trust myself," I said, giggling. Stiles smiled at me. "You have a bottle opener?" I asked him.

"Yes," he answered, digging around in his pocket for what I found out were his keys. He was about to open my drink for me when I took the keys from his hands and smiled at him, pointing at a key in particular.

"Your key has phosphors on it," I mentioned. I showed him the glowing key, then went back to opening up my drink. I reached for his when he stopped me.

"I'm sorry, what are phosphors?"

"Uh - they're any substance that luminesces. It's in your teeth, your fingernails, laundry detergent," I tried to recall in my inebriated state. I wiped at the lipstick on his cheek, "It's also in this, it reacts to the UV light. That's why it glows."

He looked at me, thinking. I wasn't really thinking when I took his keys and opened up his bottle of beer too. "You're really attractive, you know that?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Stiles said, looking at me incredulously. I smiled at him, letting the alcohol talk for me.

"It's just that - when you're thinking, about a mystery especially," I leaned in, "And you know this town has _a lot_ of mysteries."

"Has not escaped my attention," Stiles said, watching me lean in.

"Your face when you are like figuring everything out, like when you saved me from the bear trap in the preserve, I think it's really sexy."

"Come again?" Stiles said surprisedly, leaning in slightly closer to me.

"I think you look really sexy." He kept flicking his gaze back from my eyes to my lips as we got even closer to each other. I knew he was about to kiss me when he froze.

"How'd I get phosphors on my key?"

"Have you been handling chemicals?" I asked him. He shrugged and leaned forward to me again. I could feel his spearmint breath on my face when he stilled yet again.

"I'm sorry," Stiles said, slipping out from the staircase and making his way to the door. "I'm really, totally sorry I just thought of something, and I have to go," My face fell. "Really, I don't want to, I want to stay, I would just - stay-"

"Just go, Stiles." I said, dejected.

"What?"

"Just go, then." I didn't want to meet his gaze, and I was sobering up too quickly to deal with my embarrassment. I couldn't look Stiles in the eye without feeling slightly rejected. He turned around and quickly walked away, but not before coming back with a bottle of water. He crouched down to my eye level and put his hands on my face, handing me the bottle.

"This isn't on you, June okay? Drink the whole thing." He kissed the top of my forehead, before running out of the party. Doing as he said, I downed the entire bottle of water, and decided to call it a night. I called Ginny, asking her to come and get me, and I exited the building.

* * *

Just before sunlight started peering up through the sky, I got to my room, and took a cold shower. I climbed into pajamas, not bothering to dry or brush my hair. I turned off all the lights and was about to climb into bed when I saw Stiles through my window. He was parking the car and he hesitated before going inside. He turned around on his feet and jogged over to my house.

I watched him until I heard a knocking on the front door. I turned around to go let him in when I suddenly heard a clicking, screeching sound. My head slowly turned to the corner of my room, and out of the shadows came a lone figure. Head to toe he was dressed in black, like a ninja, but under his hood was a haunting silver mask. I was about to call for Ginny when the door to my room slammed shut. Too scared to even move, I screamed.

* * *

Stiles assumed that after figuring out that he was the one who wrote the numbers, he should try to explain it to June. He was certain back at the party that they were going to kiss. He was partially glad that he stopped her, mainly because she wasn't sober. That didn't stop him from thinking about what she said over and over. Stiles couldn't help but feel like her words were honest. June wasn't a secretive person by any means, but this came as a hopeful revelation to Stiles that she found him attractive. Hopeful, because Stiles had wanted more with June ever since she kissed him.

Then he had to go and ruin it with the stupid key. The stupid key that fit the stupid lock to the stupid chemistry closet. Stiles further went on to recognize that the writing on the blackboard telling Barrow to kill Kira was in fact his own hand writing. The whole ride back to his house was him debating whether or not to tell Scott and June. He concluded before he even stepped foot in his own home that he should apologize to June and explain what he discovered.

He ran over to June's house across the street and started pounding on the door, hoping June or Ginny were still awake. Ginny quickly answered the door, looking tired, but not like she had just woken up.

"Stiles? What are you-?"

"I'm so sorry, I know that it's late, but is June still awake? I need to talk to her as soon-" Stiles was cut off by a door slamming from upstairs, followed by a terrified scream.

"June?" Not even hesitating, Stiles rushed past Ginny and raced up the stairs. All the while, June kept screaming. He reached the door to her bedroom, and was stopped because it was locked shut. Stiles grew terrified, as this became more and more like the dreams he constantly had. He started pounding on the door, fiddling with the handle, and yelling her name. In an instant, it all became silent around him. Stiles tried the door handle one last time, and found that it opened.

Stiles wrenched open the door, and immediately spotted June huddled on the floor. With Ginny behind him, he rushed over to her and gathered her up in his arms. He flinched upon first contact with her, for she was as cold as ice.

"June? Sh sh sh, June what happened?"

"I - I-"

"It's okay," He rocked her back and forth, blindly grabbing blankets off her bed and wrapping them around the two of them.

"June, baby girl, what happened?" Ginny asked, kneeling on the other side of June.

"I don't - I don't know. It w-was l-like it - it came out of the d-dark."

"Who did, Moony?" Ginny hoped that name would be enough to stir a reaction. June locked eyes with her right then.

"I n-never s-saw their f-face. It was like - like-"

"Like a mask?" Stiles asked.

"I saw - I saw its eyes. They were a g-greenish yellow."

"Like what?"

"L-like a f-firefly."


	25. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: "Oni Won't Hurt You" My Ass**

I physically couldn't move. I was completely frozen in Stiles' arms, whether it was from fear or the actual cold shivers that had rendered my body completely incapable of movement I wasn't too sure. My vision was foggy, and I couldn't think straight for the life of me. I did remember thinking that my teeth were going to be shattered after chattering so violently.

"We need to get her to the hospital," I vaguely heard Ginny say.

I felt Stiles' arms around me tense, "A hospital? What - what about those - uh - healing potions you guys brew together?"

"I would give her one if I knew exactly who did this and what they did to her, but I don't. A doctor could run a more thorough diagnostic than I could."

"What would you tell them? You can't exactly say that an evil being rose out of the shadows and put her in a hypothermic state."

"Just help me get her to the car," Ginny said and the next thing I know I feel four arms lifting me into the air. Involuntary whimpers slipped past my lips as I tried to warm up. I was put in the passenger's seat of Ginny's car and found that I could move slightly. Before he could completely remove his arms from around me, I grabbed Stiles' arm.

"June? What's wrong?"

"D-don't come."

"Like hell, I'm not coming. What are you-"

"Go t-tell Sc-Scott. He - he n-needs to be w-warned about th-this." He looked like he wanted to listen, but looked over my shaky state. I raised a trembling had to his face, "Th-thank you for helping. B-but Scott m-might need to k-know. Go t-tell him." I gave him a weak smile of reassurance. He looked me over one last time, and ran across the street to his jeep. Ginny then pulled out of the driveway and made her way to the hospital.

It seemed that the shivers that wracked my body didn't really want to go away. They died down slightly in the sunlight, but unfortunately not enough to warrant Ginny turning around and going home. When we got to the hospital, I grabbed onto Ginny's hand before she got out of the car.

"T-there's a nurse. Melissa Mc-McCall. She's Scott's mom, a-and she knows. G-get her." Ginny nodded and ran inside the hospital. Not even two minutes later, I saw her come back with Scott's mom. They opened the car door, and they both carried me inside. Discreetly, they put me in a wheelchair, and wheeled me into an empty room. They helped me climb into the bed, Melissa throwing extra blankets on my shoulders.

"What happened?"

"Something attacked her, I wasn't in the room and whatever did it locked the door. When I got to her she was practically hypothermic. She kept saying something crawled out of the dark, like from the corner of her room." Melissa was looking over me as Ginny explained. "Her magic hasn't gone haywire or anything, I don't think she can use it. It's like, it's like it was frozen inside of her." Melissa put her hand to my skin, flashing a light in my eyes.

"Well you're right, she could be slipping into hypothermia."

"What do we do, then?"

"Keep your body close to hers," Melissa instructed as she ran out of the room. She came back tugging a cart into the room that had several machines on it. She strapped a mask around my nose and mouth and turned on one of the machines.

"Lie down, June honey okay?" I did as she told, feeling hot air enter my lungs as I breathed.

"What will all of this do?" Ginny asked.

"It's humidifying the oxygen before she breathes it in. It's going to warm up her airways, and warm her up faster. That's all I can do right now, I'll call Scott."

"Her friend Stiles is on it."

"Stiles was there?" I looked up to see Ginny nodding.

"June sent him to tell Scott what happened."

Melissa nodded and walked over to me, stroking hair off of my face, "Get some rest, sweetheart."

Nodding ever so slightly, I pulled the blankets closer around me and shut my eyes.

* * *

I woke up sweating and stiff. I was entirely conscious of the mask that sat on my face, and immediately tried to take it off.

"Sure you wanna do that?" I looked over to see Ginny sitting in a chair.

"It feels like I'm breathing in a sauna, Gin." I pulled the mask off my head and slowly sat up. Ginny put a comforting hand on my back to help me sit up completely.

"What time is it?" I asked, my throat scratchy.

"Eleven thirty, you slept for about five hours." I nodded.

"Sounds about right," I said as I yawned audibly. I stretched my arms over my head, and popped my neck.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like my body was dumped in an ice bath and then thrown in a fire."

"So not great," I looked over to my Guardian.

"I'll be alright, Gin." I sounded like I had a nasty head cold.

"I went home and got you some clothes." She handed me a sweatshirt and jeans, "I swear, it's like you _want_ people to know that you're a witch." Ginny added. I smiled as I unfolded the 'Hogwarts Alumni' hoodie and slipped it on. I stood up (without Ginny's help) and slid into jeans and warm socks. Ginny passed me some converse and I slipped them on.

"Does breakfast sound good?" On cue, my stomach started rumbling. Laughing, she added, "Well I'm too tired to cook, so we're eating out."

"Works for me," I said. Together, we left the hospital room, and went back into the reception room. It was fortunately not too busy, meaning no one had died and no monster had suddenly attacked Beacon Hills in the time I had been unconscious. But I did end up seeing something very surprising.

"Stiles?" I asked as he and Melissa brushed by me. The only thing he did to show acknowledgment was turn around and give me a small smile. My eyes widened in alarm when I saw he had tears in his eyes, and was alarmingly pale. I told Ginny to go on ahead with checking me out, and I sat in a waiting chair.

I was there for about twenty minutes, Ginny joining me after ten. Finally I saw Melissa walk around the corner and come back to the desk she was stationing.

"Melissa, what happened?"

She put her hands on my shoulders in reassurance, "Sweetheart, don't worry. He's just overly exhausted, sleep deprivation will do that to you."

"Sleep deprivation? He told me it was just nightmares!"

"Regardless, I gave him a sedative. June, he's sleeping a dreamless sleep right now. It's all we can ask for. He won't be up for nearly eight more hours." My shoulders slumped an I nodded.

"Will you call me-?"

"You'll be the first to know if something happens to him," She told me with a knowing smile.

Ginny and I left the hospital after that. After breakfast, we headed home, and I was immediately put on bed rest. I sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue with her, and went to my room. Shakily I checked and double checked every corner and crevice of my room, making sure no one was hiding out there anymore. I threw the curtains open to flood the room with sunlight so no corner was left in the dark. Checking my phone to see it was dead, I plugged it in to get a decent charge before collapsing on my bed and passing out yet again.

* * *

When I woke up it was still light outside, but definitely later. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I reached over my bed to where I plugged my phone in to charge. The first thing I glanced at was the time, which read five thirty. The next thing I saw were the many texts and missed calls, most of them from Scott. In fact, as I was looking through all the texts asking me if I was alright, Scott called me again.

"Hello?"

"June?"

"Don't sound so surprised, Scott. You called me."

"Right right, Stiles told me about what happened, are you okay?"

"I'm fine now, is there a reason you're calling?"

"Yes, actually. That thing that attacked you last night? It has friends," My eyes widened and I sat up.

"Friends? As in there's more of them?"

"Yeah and they attacked us at the black light party last night. They leave a mark behind the ear, did you get one?" I walked over to the mirror that hung over my dresser and checked the backs of my ears. On the left ear I saw what reflected as a five.

"Yeah they left one, it's a backwards five."

"Allison's dad has come across these things before, and said they're only out at night."

"What supernatural creature _isn't_ nocturnal these days," I muttered, "So did it attack you last night too?"

"It was about to, but the sun came up before it could."

"It was about to attack you?"

"Actually, I think it might have been about to attack Kira."

"Kira was there? Does she know that you're a werewolf now?"

"Yeah, I told her this morning. Anyways, back to why I was calling you. Deaton installed mountain ash into my house, and I brought Kira with me. We're going to seal it off tonight and hopefully whatever these things are they can't get through."

"But in the off chance that they do..." I said, trying to get to the point.

"We're in for a fight," He told me.

"And you want me there?"

"If you can't, I'd totally understand-"

"I'm already on my way."

* * *

I walked up to the McCall residence and went through the side entrance with the screen door. Reaching for the door handle, I could hear Agent McCall speaking.

"This kind of thing usually starts off with 'It's not what you think,' or 'I can explain.'" Noticing that the sun was getting lower in the sky, I made that my moment to enter the house. Everyone turned around to look at me, and I froze.

"Can I help you?" Agent McCall asked me, and I smiled patronizingly at him.

"Dad, let me help _you_ out," Scott said, tone desperate as the room got darker. "You need to leave."

"I will, with a satisfactory explanation." I rolled my eyes, and walked around the room to make sure the exits were sealed.

"Go get a warrant." Scott said and I smiled as I locked a window.

"I don't need a warrant, I'm your father!"

"No, you're a gene donor. I got my hair color from you and that's all I got."

"Preach it," I said in a high pitched sing-song voice. Walking around, I saw all eyes on me. "What? I've got daddy issues too. But Scott, wrap this up."

"Look, claim to be an authority figure in my life all you want but you're not. And you definitely don't get to play 'Tough Dad' with me," I turned around to see Melissa walk through the door.

"What's going on here?"

McCall looked about as triumphant as someone who only had two facial expressions could look. "Maybe one of you should explain."

Unfortunately, the room went dark before much else could happen. "S-Scott?" Kira said, voicing everybody's concern. Before anybody could do anything, a figure appeared in the living room. I tensed, and looked around for more.

"Who the hell is this?" Scott's father asked, pulling his government issued gun out of it's holster on his hip. Like the fucking clueless moron he is, he walked closer to the masked demon. I readied my mind in case any intervention was needed, and I watched the scene play out.

"Dad, no!" Scott said firmly, but it fell on deaf ears. Rafael approached even closer, and the next thing I knew, another demon appeared directly behind him. In the time it took me to blink, a sword went through his shoulder, and Scott's dad fell to the floor. Kira screamed behind me, and I readied my magic.

Melissa ran forward to McCall and quickly tended to his shoulder, while Scott growled at the two demons. Before anyone could move, the front door was opened. Immediately taking it as a warning, Melissa dragged Scott's dad down a deserted hallway and out of what would become the line of fire. From the now open door slid in a fully transformed Derek Hale, baring his teeth and roaring at the figures.

Scott and Derek set to work, and I worked on keeping Kira back. "Melissa, the ash!" I yelled at her, and quickly felt more than one presence behind me. Shoving Kira back behind me, I sent the demon behind us flying into the wall. At the same time I heard a crash come from one of the windows, and saw the twins land on the ground with their fangs bared.

The demon that had been sent into the wall took no time to recover, and advanced to the twins. They were quick to throw him outside the house, just as Derek and Scott threw theirs outside.

"Mom, now! Do it now!" Scott yelled to Melissa, who then ran to the front door and broke a glass jar containing mountain ash. The ash magically lined up with the doorway, completing the barrier that was the McCall residence. When we were certain that the ninjas slash demons (I couldn't tell at this point) couldn't get in, Melissa and I ran back to Scott's dad.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked her as she held his head.

"Get some dish towels from the kitchen, and help me put pressure on the wound." I did just as she asked, and came back, "Watch out for his arm, it's rotated a certain way and we can't move it any more. Scott, this isn't good!" She yelled out the last part, and Scott came into the hallway. I was rapidly becoming more and more aware of the significant amount of blood that began to stain my hands. Scott, Melissa, and I all moved him upstairs into Scott's room, and gently laid him on the bed.

"Need to call for backup," McCall said deliriously. I looked over to Scott.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't bring any - any healing potions. It was getting too dark too fast, I-"

"June, it's okay. This isn't your fault," He said assuredly, then turned to his mom, "How bad is it?"

"Based on the way that his arm is rotated, the tendon looks torn," she pressed a new cloth to his still bleeding shoulder, "He could be on his way to a collapsed lung."

"Mom those things out there th-they're not gonna leave until the sun's up."

"I really hate to be a Debbie Downer but at the rate he's bleeding, he's not going to make it that long. We have to get him to the hospital," I told Scott.

"Should we call Stiles' dad?" Scott asked no one in particular.

"I don't know," Melissa answered him, "Is that just gonna get more people hurt?"

"Maybe. I don't think guns work on them," Scott said.

"Then what does?" I asked him, and he looked to me, at a loss. "Look, you said Allison is working on something right?" He nodded, "We just need her to work faster. Call and see if she answers."

* * *

She didn't answer. We sat there for another hour, and watched over McCall. Scott had gone downstairs to talk to Kira, and Melissa told me she could handle Rafael. Since his bleeding had gone down considerably (not enough to ease any worry), I nodded. I was walking down the stairs when the house started to shake. I initially thought it was an earthquake, and began to think _Wow, this couldn't get worse_. When I got down to the main floor, I saw it was the demons banging their swords against the mountain ash barrier.

"What are they doing?" One of the twins, it was too dark to see which one, asked.

"Testing for weaknesses," Derek answered. Two of the ninjas thrust their swords forward into one spot in particular, almost breaking through the seal.

"I think they found one." I squeaked out and a twin, Ethan I recognized, looked over my way.

"Guys," he said when one demon thrust their hand almost entirely inside the house, "We've got a problem."

Literally saved by the bell, I heard a phone ring.

"Allison," Scott asked quickly, and I walked over to put my ear in on the call, "Please tell me you have something. Okay, they're here, they're trying to get in. And it looks like they'll be able to."

"Okay," She replied, "Okay, listen. They're Japanese demons, they're called the Oni. They're looking for someone possessed, someone with a dark spirit attached to them."

"Nogitsune..." Scott said. Bewildered, I turned to him.

"How did you know that?" I asked, and I heard Allison ask the same thing.

"I just - uh - tell me what else," Scott said in a rush, seeing the Oni get closer to breaking in.

"Okay they won't hurt you. They know you're supernatural, but once they do this check, once they realize that you're not carrying this dark spirit then they won't hurt you. I promise, all they're looking for is a nogitsune." Scott ended the call.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Kira came up and asked. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. "They're looking for me," She looked terrified, and Scott moved closer to her.

"They're looking for a dark spirit," Scott began.

"Aren't we all," I muttered. I got a few odd stares and raised my hands up, "We all have our kinks okay?"

"Look, they're looking for a dark spirit. I know it's not you," Scott said, ignoring me.

"Scott, you're gonna have to do something!" Derek said quickly, and everyone looked back to the door. Just as he said it, the Oni broke the barrier of mountain ash. They all started filing in the room one by one.

"Don't do anything," Scott said, and everyone who had gained a defensive posture froze. We all looked to him.

"Seriously?" I asked him.

"I said don't do anything," He said. His tone was one of authority, completely void of fear or doubt. Without further ado, the Oni walked forward. They breezed past everyone and walked up to Scott and Kira, who were gripping each other's hands tightly. The Oni grabbed them by the heads and flashed their firefly-like eyes. I shivered, thinking about how they did the same to me not even twenty four hours ago.

Aiden looked like he wanted to help Scott out, but Derek and I held him back. There was nothing to be done now, we just had to wait. Even though it pained all of us.

Just when I thought we may have been waiting too long, the Oni released Scott and Kira. With a small sizzling sound, the pair fell to the floor. I hesitantly looked to the Oni, who turned into shadows and disappeared. Rushing forward, I went to Kira while the others tended to Scott.

"Check - check his ear," I instructed as I reached for Kira's. Behind it was the same backwards five. Now knowing that these were Japanese demons, it was safe to infer that the backwards number was in fact a kanji. The kanji for 'self.' I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that none of my supernatural friends were now possessed by an evil Japanese spirit.

* * *

I helped Melissa lift Scott's dad onto a gurney, and let a nurse take over for applying pressure. I still followed alongside Scott and his mom, as she informed the other nurses of the situation.

"Stab wound to the left chest, possible collapsed lung and - pulse is weak."

"We'll find Stiles," Scott said, and she nodded. I lead the way, trying to remember where Melissa took Stiles earlier this morning. Scott and I walked down a hall and turned another corner.

"Did you want to wash your hands or something?" Confused, I turned to Scott. Looking down at my hands, I saw they were still saturated in his dad's blood. I'd been so preoccupied with the events of tonight, I had completely forgotten.

"Let's just find Stiles first." He nodded, and we walked further into the hospital. We were about to pass an empty operating room when Scott stopped me from walking. I turned around to see him looking inside, and when I followed his gaze I saw Stiles standing in the room.

Hesitantly I opened the door, and Stiles didn't turn around. Scott and I shared a look of concern before turning back to him.

"Stiles," Scott asked cautiously, "You okay?"

Stiles turned around, eyebrows raised. "Yeah, fine. What's been going on?" Stiles looked over to me, concern taking over his features when he saw my hands. "June, what the hell happened, are you okay?"

"Oh, it's not - it's not my blood. It's Agent McCall's." Stiles raised an eyebrow, then looked over to Scott.

"Agent McCall's?"

"Yeah, you know," I said jokingly, "I just - ugh I hate the guy so much so I just..." I trailed off when I saw Scott's face, "Bad timing, I know."

"What happened?" Stiles asked, and Scott clamped a hand to his shoulder.

"A lot."

* * *

 _I hated small spaces to begin with, so the fact that I was in one meant one of two things: One, I was in a fucked situation and this is the only means of survival; or two, I was in a nightmare._

 _I was in a crawlspace of sorts, and it was so small I could hardly move. I maneuvered myself from my crouched position and reached for the phone that I felt in my back pocket. I grabbed it and turned on my phone. The screen was dim and didn't allow me to see much, but I couldn't care. I unlocked my phone and tried to call Stiles, to let him know something was wrong. I held the phone up to my ear, and jumped when his voice loudly announced that he couldn't get to the phone._

 _Hanging up, I tried to dial Scott's phone. Pressing the phone once more to my ear, I almost started crying when I heard my phone hang up immediately. I checked the screen to see that I conveniently lost service._

 _Deciding that I would need to rescue myself, I turned on the flashlight to see if I could find a way out of here. I was wall to wall closed in, and I quickly saw that the only company I had was that of a dead body. I squealed, slamming back against the opposite wall, and slapped a hand over my mouth._

 _The body was wrapped up like a mummy, so I couldn't see his face. I was guessing it was a he, as the clothing it was in screamed that of a man. Oddly enough, it was clothing that looked like it belonged to someone from the 1940s, not anyone recent. The clothes weren't the only odd thing about it though. The only other thing in the room was a sheathed katana, that had just as much dust and cobwebs as the body holding it._

 _I tried not to panic, for that would get me nowhere. Trying to think of ways out, I started listing any viable options. Before I could get too far into my thoughts, I heard a scraping on the wall to my right. Long and eerie sounding, I knew that someone was directly on the other side. In the distance I could hear someone call out, and the scraping stopped. Scooting over, I pressed my ear against the wall trying to listen._

 _I could hear whimpering on the other side. It sounded like whoever it was was in pain. I jumped considerably when I heard that person yell out in agony. My stomach dropped when I recognized the person who was yelling._

 _"Stiles?" I whispered to myself in horror, then hit the wall. "Stiles, it's me! Stiles!" I yelled louder and louder._

 _"June?" I barely heard him say it._

 _"Yes! Yes it's me, Stiles! Stiles are you okay? Stiles!"_

 _"June - I - June?" He sounded bewildered, then went from confused to scared._

 _"Stiles-"_

 _"She can't help you, Stiles." I heard a third voice say. It sent chills up my spine, the way they talked. It was like they were talking through teeth. Teeth that were more than likely a bit too sharp to be human._

 _"What - what do you mean?" I heard Stiles ask._

 _"Stiles, don't listen to him!" I yelled out, banging on the wall once more._

 _"I mean what I say. Your little witch of a friend can't help you." I started crying as I pounded on the wall even harder._

 _"Stiles!" I froze when I heard rustling from behind me. My breathing rapid and my hands shaking, I picked up my phone with the flashlight and turned around. My eyes widened in horror when I saw the dead body start to move. Its head turned slowly towards me, and if it had eyes, I was sure they were staring into mine._

 _"June can't save Stiles." I heard it say, and I screamed in terror._

I sat up in my bed, panting and shaking. I wiped my head to find that I had indeed been sweating. Letting my breathing slow, I went to go get a glass of water. Before I could, my phone began vibrating on the nightstand, and I let out an exclamation of surprise. Not even looking at the screen, I put the phone to my ear.

"Stiles?"

"No, it's Scott," Scott said in a rushed and worried tone. "I just got off the phone with Stiles."

"Oh," I said, trying not to panic, "Is everything okay?"

"No, it's not. Stiles called me and told me he doesn't know where he is. June, I - I think someone might have taken him."


	26. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Realizations**

"Taken? W-what-?"

"Either that or he's been sleepwalking again. Look, meet Isaac and I at Stiles' house, we're on our way there now. I'll explain when I get there." He hung up and I stared at my phone for a second. Shakily, I threw it on the bed and ran over to my closet. I shrugged on a sweater, remembering how Ginny said it was one of the coldest nights of the year, and hopped around putting on jeans. The entire time I could only think about my dream. How I was stuck in that cramped space with a mummy, and Stiles was on the other side. Not to mention how he was in trouble, and how someone was in that room with him.

Tears stung my eyes at the thought of that being Stiles' reality at the moment. Sniffling, I laced up my converse and shook my head. I needed to get a grip for Stiles' sake. Anything about me needed to be put on the back burner until he was safe and with everyone. I grabbed my phone and raced out of my room, not even bothering to turn off the lights. I ran downstairs and took one solitary healing potion just in case, and my keys and dashed out of my front door.

I ran over to the Stilinski household and the first thing I noticed was that there was no car in the driveway. No jeep, no government issued cop car, nothing. I walked up to the door to find it was unlocked and with no hesitation or knocking, I opened it.

"Stiles?" I yelled out hopefully, only to receive no response. Sighing quickly I clambered up the steps and all but burst into his room, only to find that empty as well. What was left behind was an entirely different story.

The red strings connecting the case together that was on his wall was still in tact, only with one alarming altercation. Every single string was now in some way connected to a pair of scissors that Stiles had forcefully stabbed into his mattress. It was disturbing, like he thought he was somehow connected to all of this.

I didn't get much time to think over all of what I was seeing when I heard footfall behind me. Thinking it was Scott and Isaac, I abruptly turned around. My eyebrows went up when I saw it was in fact Lydia with Aiden. Her eyes widened when she saw me.

"What are you-?"

"Scott called me saying Stiles was missing and that he would explain when he got here. What are _you_ doing here?"

"I - I um..." Lydia looked unsure of herself as she trailed off. I grabbed her hand.

"Lydia you can talk to me. What happened that lead you here?"

"I just - I was sketching and I - the music stopped. It cut out and I heard Stiles saying to come find him. June he - he sounded terrified." My hands started to shake.

"Shit," I ran my hands through my hair and we all turned to look at Stiles' bed. Once again behind me I could hear footfall. This time it was Scott and Isaac. Scott's eyes landed on Lydia.

"How did you know, did he call you too?" Scott was rushed and I had never seen him so panicked.

"I heard it." She said.

"Don't ask, it gets more confusing when you ask," Aiden said.

"Not as confusing as this," I said, gesturing to Stiles' bed. We moved out of the way so Scott could see what he had done to his bed. I looked back at Scott and added, "He uses red for unsolved cases."

"Maybe he thinks he's part of an unsolved case," Aiden said.

"Or is an unsolved case," Isaac said, looking around. When he suggested that, I could have sworn I saw Scott's eyes flicker with understanding.

"Hang on," Lydia started, interrupting my thoughts. "Is he still out there? You don't know where he is?"

"He said he's in an industrial basement somewhere," Scott answered.

"We came here to pick up June and get a better scent," Isaac admitted.

"Did he say anything else?" I pressed, my anxiety shooting through the roof. I was certain it was so bad that the scent of it masked Stiles' scent tenfold.

"Something's wrong with his leg," Scott told us, "It's bleeding."

"And he's freezing," Isaac added on and I let out a frustrated breath.

"Tonight's one of the coldest nights of the year," Aiden mentioned, "It's gonna drop into the twenties."

"What did his dad say?" Lydia said quietly. Scott shifted uncomfortably and I scrunched my eyebrows.

"We kind of - didn't tell him yet."

"Stiles is bleeding and freezing and you didn't call his dad?" I exclaimed, and Scott cast his gaze downward.

"He sort of asked us not to."

"And you listened? He's probably delirious from the cold!" I said as a few tears fell down my face, the stress of the situation finally settling with me.

"We can find him by scent," Scott tried to reassure me, "If - if he was sleepwalking then he couldn't have gone far, right?"

"You guys didn't notice that his jeep's gone did you?" Aiden asked as Lydia reached for her phone.

"You promised you wouldn't call his dad, I didn't." Scott looked to her, desperate.

"Lydia hold on I can get more help. Derek or Allison-"

"Everyone except the cops, great idea!" Lydia snapped.

"Look Scott," I began calmly, and he looked over to me, "We have to remember that Lydia only gets these feelings when someone is about to die, okay?"

Scott's shoulders slumped, defeated. "You don't have to call his dad, it's five minutes to the station." He and Isaac made to leave, expecting everyone to follow. I went over to Stiles' closet and grabbed the thickest jacket I could find, then ran over to his dresser to find some warm socks. I wasn't sure where we would find him, but if he was only in his pajamas he would definitely need some extra layers.

"We'll catch up," I heard Lydia say.

"What, why?" Scott asked.

"There is something here."

"Yeah," Isaac said glancing around, "Evidence of total insanity."

"Just for that, you're sitting in the back seat, Lahey."

"Backseat?"

"No offense Scott, but three people are not going to fit on your bike. And if you didn't think I was going with you then you're out of your mind." I said as I left Stiles' room and walked down the stairs.

"June, we can just meet you there," He argued.

"Absolutely not, you and I need to talk." I said, leaving no room for debate as I lead the two werewolves across the street to my car. I slid into the driver's seat and started the car, turning on the heat and turning off the radio. After the boys got in, I tossed the clothing into the seat Isaac wasn't sitting in and pulled off.

"So..." Scott said.

"What didn't you tell me about Stiles?" I said, not bothering to beat around the bush, "Why did you seem to understand why Stiles did that with his murder wall?"

Scott sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "I don't really - I don't think I fully understand why he did it."

"But-?" I egged him on.

"But a few days ago, after the black light party and you were attacked, Stiles seemed on edge. He - he told me about this key that he found on his key ring that wasn't his or his dad's. He also said that you told him about how the key had phosphors." I nodded, remembering that clearly, because we almost kissed shortly after. "He said that that gave him the idea about the chemistry closet in the school. He told me when he went back to the school that the key unlocked the closet."

"The closet that Barrow hid in?" I asked and Scott nodded.

"Yeah. He also said that he double checked the message on the board that told Barrow to kill Kira, and that it was in his handwriting." My eyes widened.

"So, Stiles thinks he did all of that? Helped Barrow and told him to kill Kira?" I saw Scott nodding again from my peripheral.

"But did he prove it to you? Like the key and stuff."

"That's the thing, when he tried to show me the message on the board someone had already erased it."

"And the key?"

"The key wasn't on his key ring either. He had no evidence to prove what he was thinking was true." I pulled up to the station and we all hopped out.

"I saw that key. I never saw him unlock the door with it, but I definitely saw that key."

"But did Stiles really do all of that?" Scott asked me as I opened the doors and walked to the front desk.

"No, but - I don't - I don't know what to think, Scott. I really don't." Scott whipped out his cell phone to send a few texts as I walked up to the deputy stationed at the desk. "We need to speak to the sheriff immediately. It's an emergency regarding his son." The deputy nodded and waved us on through.

The sheriff was beside himself. I mean, it was hard to tell because he kept his composure, but his hands began to tremble and his voice lowered considerably. We were stopped in front of a deputy's desk by the name of Parrish, and my heart broke at the sight of Stiles' dad. He had to take a few moments to gain the ability to speak, as if he was afraid if he said anything at all he would burst into tears.

"If his jeep is gone, that's where we start," He began, and my mind exploded by how he set to work so quickly. "Parrish, let's get an APB out on a blue 1980 CJ5 Jeep. Cordova, I want a list of any kind of industrial basement or sub-level of any building that he could have gotten into while sleepwalking.

"It's the coldest night of the year so far," He spoke louder so the whole station could hear him, "So if he's out there barefoot and in just a tee shirt, he could already be hypothermic. Let's move fast, let's think fast. The three of you come with me." Scott, Isaac and I followed him into his office. He was quick to shut the door and turn to us.

"Okay, is there anything you need to tell me that I can't tell everyone out there?" He asked us.

"Lydia knew he was missing," Scott said.

"Can she help find him?"

"She's working on it," Isaac assured him.

"Anything else?"

"I texted Derek and Allison for help," Scott mentioned.

"I brought some of Stiles' clothes just in case. And I have a healing potion as well." I wasn't sure if I should mention the dream, as I never actually saw Stiles' face, just heard his voice.

"Alright can - can you track him by scent?" Stilinski asked, but before anyone could answer, Deputy Parrish knocked on the door and entered the room.

"We've got it, sir. They found the jeep."

"Where?"

"Beacon Memorial."

* * *

Following behind the sheriff, we pulled up to Stiles' jeep. By the time I cut the engine on my car, the sheriff was already inside of the jeep looking for any sign of his son. When he came out, he looked disheartened.

"It's dead, he must've left the lights on."

"Why would he come here?" I asked.

"Let's find out." Stilinski replied, running into the hospital. I was hot on his heels with Scott right next to me. When we got inside, Scott pulled me off to the side.

"I just got a text from Derek, he's up on the roof."

"Okay, I'll stay here to see if we can find anything." Scott nodded and ran off with Isaac following behind. I turned back to see Melissa running up to the sheriff.

"Security's doing sweeps of every floor, nothing yet."

"What about the basement?"

"Follow me," Melissa said, and we ran jogged over to the basement doors. We got down there and started canvasing the place when Isaac came down to tell the Sheriff and I that Derek said Stiles was gone. Not even a minute later, Stilinski received a phone call from Lydia.

"Alright you two," he pointed to two deputies, "We're headed to Eichen. Let's go." I made to go with him, but he put a hand on my shoulder. "June, I need you to stay here."

My eyes widened, "No offense sir, but like hell I'm staying here."

"Not that I think you're incapable of taking care of yourself, but-" He paused, and I truly saw how stressed he was. How the worry settled into his face, aging him. "On the off chance that he's not where we think he is, then I need you looking elsewhere. You might - you might be able to do something."

"I appreciate the gesture, but I don't think I know any spells that can wake someone up from such a state." Stilinski clasped a hand gently on my shoulder.

"I'm not talking about magic spells here, June. I'm talking about you. You might be able to help him if I can't. I can see it, he really cares for you, you mean something to him. And I know he means a lot to you. Just - I just know that if he's not in my hands, then he's in good hands if they're yours." He squeezed my shoulder and left without another word. Silently, I looked around for Melissa. It wasn't until we got up to the ground floor did I realize that I was blushing madly.

Forty five minutes later and there was no word on Stiles. In that time, I had figured out that Eichen House was a mental institution, and my worry skyrocketed. I felt like I was grasping at straws trying to find a lead that could bring me to Stiles. There were multiple points where my fears had brought tears to my eyes. I did as best as I could to keep it together, but I think Melissa knew just how anxious I was becoming.

It was just passing the hour mark when I saw Agent McCall walk briskly into the hospital and to the receptionist's desk. He spoke briefly with the nurse sitting there when his eyes landed on me. His face lit up in recognition and with the arm that wasn't sitting in a sling, he beckoned for me to go talk to him. Hesitantly, I walked over.

"Do you know where Melissa is?"

"Um she said something about looking over some video tapes of the hospital parking lot to see if Stiles was in them." McCall nodded.

"Okay, I need you to go get her, and tell her to grab her coat," I realized that his tone was the gentlest I had ever heard it. Calm, but still authoritative and rushed. "As a matter of fact, grab your things as well."

"Why me?"

"You're close to Stiles, right?" I nodded slowly.

"If we're going to find him, it'll be nice for him to have a familiar face around." I nodded again, this time more fervently and ran to go grab Melissa. Explaining the situation to her, she went to go grab her coat while I ran back outside. I ran to my car and quickly grabbed the jacket and socks that belonged to Stiles, and went back to the two McCalls. Together, the three of us went to Agent McCall's SUV and climbed in. The entire time we did this, Scott's parents were discussing theories on Stiles' whereabouts.

"So what are you saying?" Melissa asked.

"I'm saying the real question might be how do we know he's not still asleep?"

"You mean he's been asleep this whole time?" She asked dubiously.

"People who sleepwalk can do crazy things," I said. "One guy goes down to the kitchen and cooks an entire meal, another guy's found mowing his lawn naked."

"Why does any of that matter?" Melissa stated.

"Remember that townhouse apartment we lived in? That one night, I - came home drunk?"

"Oh the one night?" She argued. I shrank back in my seat a little bit, feeling way too invasive.

"Let me finish," He said. "So I'm drunk, passed out on the bed. I get up to go to the bathroom, and suddenly I hear you yelling 'What the hell are you doing?'"

"Because you were in the closet, peeing in the laundry basket!" I rolled my lips together to suppress the small smile that wanted to surface.

"Yeah I thought it was the bathroom!"

"Oh no, you were drunk off your ass," Melissa said, almost smiling at the memory.

"Yeah but I was convinced it was the bathroom."

"Yeah?"

"So how do we know Stiles isn't just convinced he's in some kind of basement, and isn't actually there?" I sat forward again as he continued, "I think when he called Scott he was still asleep. And he's still asleep right now."

"Then where is he?" I said, and McCall glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

"I've got an idea about that too." He said as he turned his car down a familiar road.

"The preserve?"

"Scott mentioned in his phone call that Stiles said his eyes were burning from a smell that was around him. Do you know any smells like that, June?"

Realization hit me, "That night at the coyote den..."

"Everyone's eyes were burning from that smell, it was so powerful." We drove down the road in the preserve, and stopped when we were near the den but couldn't go farther, "It's a long shot, but-"

I didn't hear the rest of what he had to say, for I was out of the car before he could finish. Even in the dark, I ran. I heard Melissa shouting for me to wait for them, but I didn't. I didn't even care that I was stumbling around over branches and larger rocks, I just kept going. I whipped out my cell phone and turned on the flashlight to see around me, and I found the way to the den. I kept running closer to it, fanning my light all around me on the forest floor to see if I could find Stiles. The closer I got to the den, the more concerned I grew until I shined my light inside.

Stiles was curled up in a ball, eyes screwed shut and his mouth moving. My eyes widened as I saw his breath fan up and away from his purple lips, and I remembered just how cold it was. I sprang into action, screaming Melissa's name and telling her I found him before rushing inside. I grabbed him by the ankles but he crawled away from me, and he started saying 'wait,' over and over. I kept trying to pull him back to me, and he kept clawing the ground.

"Wait!" He yelled, and my vision started blurring from tears that were pouring out of my eyes. Whether it was from seeing Stiles in that state or the disgusting smell of the coyote den I wasn't sure. Melissa fell to the ground next to me and together we gathered him up.

"WAIT! WAIT!" He bellowed and sobbed, and I fought with his struggling body to get him to face me.

"Stiles it's me-! It's June!" I fought to be heard over his agonizing screams.

"WAIT! WAIT," His crying was slowly calming down, to the point where I didn't have to scream myself hoarse.

"Stiles, it's okay, it's fine! You're fine, it's okay! It's me. I'm here, it's June." I pulled him into my arms as he stopped crying all together. He turned around to look at me, and I could properly see the dirt on his face.

"You're alright. Hey, you're alright."

"June-?" I smiled at him, relieved he was okay.

"Yeah." I ran my hands through his hair and down the sides of his face, "Yeah, it's me. You're safe." His skin was like ice as he leaned into me again. I looked up to Agent McCall and spoke, "Let's get him to a hospital."

Stiles made a noise of protest when the three of us lifted him up and rushed him back to the car. We put him in the back seat and I climbed in after him, immediately setting to work. I reached over him to grab his jacket and put it on him. I had to do it rather forcefully, as he kept trying to shrug it off. I finally managed to get it on him and zip it up, and I got to work on the socks. McCall turned on the car and put the heat on full blast, while Melissa adjusted the vents to push the air in Stiles' direction. I put both of his socks without much struggle, and moved his body so that it was on top of mine as much as possible. I grabbed Stiles' hands and began rubbing them furiously with my own, occasionally blowing hot air onto them.

I reached into my pocket and grabbed onto the healing potion. I looked up at McCall, making sure he was distracted. His eyes were on the road and his cell phone was in his ear, undoubtedly telling the sheriff we found Stiles. I uncapped the potion and brought it up to Stiles' lips.

"You're too cold for this to do away with your hypothermia completely, but it'll definitely help." I said to him quietly. He weakly opened his mouth, and allowed me to empty the contents of the vial. After about five minutes of me diligently rubbing at his body trying to keep it warm while simultaneously ignoring the beads of sweat dripping down my back, Stiles laid his head down on my lap. I cautiously put my hands in his hair, stroking it soothingly and slowly.

He hummed in content, and spoke lowly, "I thought you were with me, wherever I was." I froze, but continued to stroke his hair.

"How so?"

"I don't know, it was - it was like I was in one room, and you were in another. You were on the other side of the wall from where I was, and you were screaming."

* * *

We all stood up eagerly when we saw the sheriff approach us.

"He's sleeping now, and he's just fine." Relief flooded my body, and everyone's shoulders relaxed. "He doesn't remember much, it's a bit like a dream to him." He looked to Scott's dad. "Thank you."

"It was that repellent we sprayed in the coyote den to keep other animals out. I couldn't go near it without my eyes watering. It's just a good thing he mentioned it over the phone."

"No," The sheriff argued, "It was more than that. Thank you."

"It was a lucky connection." I rolled my eyes, and so did Stiles' dad.

"McCall, can you shut up please, and accept my sincerest gratitude?"

Agent McCall reached out his good hand to shake the sheriff's, "Accepted."

"Alright, you three go home. You've got school in less than six hours. Get some sleep." I hugged Melissa and the sheriff before walking off with Scott and Lydia.

"I don't know what happened," Lydia said. "I was so sure."

"Yeah, I wasn't much help either," Scott agreed. "June was the real help tonight."

"All of that doesn't matter if he's okay," I reassured, and Lydia turned back quickly, as if reacting to a loud noise. "Lyds, do you hear something?"

"No," She shook her head, "I didn't hear anything."

* * *

School was torturously slow. Sheriff Stilinski had texted me around lunchtime telling me that throughout the afternoon doctors were performing some tests on Stiles, and that I was welcome to come visit. Scott and I agreed that we could go around six o'clock to see him. Once we set up the time to go see him, six o'clock couldn't roll around soon enough.

Lydia didn't go with us to visit him. Actually, she looked like she was coming down with an illness of some sort, and opted to go home. I made my way home and plopped down on my bed. It took all I had not to fall asleep, and I pushed myself up into a sitting position. With my back to the door, I looked over my chalkboard wall that still had all my abilities written on it.

Frustrated, I went to my desk and grabbed an eraser. With long strokes of my arm, I made sure to erase every last bit of what I had written down. Staring at that writing had made me feel utterly useless. I had so many abilities, yet none that could help Stiles with whatever was going on with him. Not to mention that I wasn't even sure if I could rely on my magic anymore. Especially if I was apparently slipping into his dreams. The same dreams that were so vivid to him, they were now an integrated part of his reality.

I spent the next two hours meditating, or at least trying to. Basically I was doing everything I could not to be consumed by my worry for Stiles and his mind. When Scott picked me up, I was about ready to throw everything in my room around in a fit of rage, so I guess all in all my methods of soothing myself were futile. I hopped onto the back of Scott's motorbike and we sped off toward the hospital. The whole time I kept thinking (hoping) that we were headed towards a solution for Stiles.

* * *

"I'm not sure I know how to pronounce this, or if it's actually a misspelling," I heard the doctor say. I was standing in a room with Scott, Stiles, Melissa, and the sheriff along with a doctor. Stiles was currently sat on a slab where he was to lay down for the next hour for his MRI.

"Just call him Stiles," the sheriff told him.

"Okay Stiles, just to warn you you're going to hear a lot of noise during the MRI. It's due to pulses of electricity going through the metal coils inside the machine. If you want we can get you some earplugs, or headphones...?"

Stiles shook his head, "Oh, no. No I don't need anything." He scratched the side of his temple, something I had noticed he did when he was uncomfortable.

"Hey," His dad said to him, "We're just on the other side of that window, okay?"

"Okay." The sheriff smiled at him as Stiles pat him on the shoulder. He, Melissa, and the doctor walked out, leaving Scott, Stiles, and I alone in the room.

"You know what they're looking for right?" Stiles said quietly, and Scott and I said nothing.

"It's called frontotemporal dementia," He continued, "Areas of your brain start to shrink. It's uh - it's what my mother had. It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers, and there's no cure," I looked over at him and let out a deep breath, sick of the tears that seemed to constantly be at my waterline.

Scott didn't say anything for a bit. He pinched at his nose before speaking, "Stiles, if you have it - we'll do something. _I'll do something_." Stiles looked up at him and pulled him in for a huge hug. When they let go, Scott walked out of the room.

I made to go follow him, "I'll be in the waiting room if you uh - if you need me for whatever. I don't know why you would need me, you know, the doctors - the doctors could help more than I could-"

"June," I paused and looked up at him. He looked over my face and I couldn't help but feel like he was trying to memorize it. Like he wasn't ever going to see it again.

"June," He repeated, "I'll always need you."

I wiped the stray tears that had fallen and went in to hug him. His hands went around my waist as my arms hooked around the base of his neck. I pulled away, but not enough to where he had to let go of me. His hands were still on my waist as my hands moved to either side of his face.

"Thank you for being there for me."

"I am always going to be there for you Stiles Stilinski. Always," I told him, meaning those words more than anything I felt I had ever said. I stood up on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his forehead longingly. I pulled away from him and began to walk outside of the room. I turned back when I reached the doorway.

"I'm right outside," I said, and left his sight.

When I got to the hallway where Scott was, I sat down next to him. He held out his hand and I took it, squeezing tightly. We both leaned back in our respective chairs and let out long sighs.

"Quite the past couple of days, huh?" Scott said, to fill the silence.

Not even moving, I kept my eyes staring straight ahead at the wall opposite the two of us. "I'm falling in love with your best friend." I told Scott in a flat voice. No emotions were mixed in, but I heard my voice hold a certain conviction that was slightly comforting.

Scott squeezed my hand, and in the same tone replied, "I know."

And we sat there in silence. Derek joined us at some point and talked to Scott. Some time later the two of them ran off to go look at something. Meanwhile, I let the weight of the words I had spoken aloud to Scott settle in my heart.

I was falling for Stiles Stilinski. In a truly head over heels, need-you-in-my-life kind of way. I thought back to all of my previous boyfriends, and couldn't help but compare them to Stiles. Yes, I did in some ways care for my exes, but I knew it wasn't like this. I had never felt such a desperate need to make sure anyone was okay until I met him. I never wanted to hear someone endlessly make jabs at my magic and the fact that I was a witch, until he did. I never met someone whose eyes were always warm and endless, and looked at me in a way that made me feel like I was the only other person out there.

When my own parents threw me aside like I was nothing, Stiles made me feel important again. He took me in as a friend, as his partner in crime, and incorporated me into his family. Not just his dad, but Scott and the others. I mean yes, he initially suspected me of murder, but he made sure to redeem himself in my eyes as fast as possible. He made an effort for me, in a time where people in my life had effortlessly left me to rot.

And then I kissed him. I don't even know if I could technically consider it a kiss because I was trying to stop his panic attack, but I felt something. A real, genuine, awkward, beautiful, pure thing. I knew I did, and I told myself that before anything could happen, we would have to be friends first. Sitting in that hospital chair I told myself that being friends could go fuck itself.

I was falling in love with Stiles Stilinski, and I'm pretty sure he was losing his mind. My timing overall was really just off.

As if fate really wanted to kick me in the ass one more time, Stiles disappeared from the hospital that evening. He left nothing but an exposed electrical cable flying around the front of the hospital and chaos behind.


	27. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Poison on our Tongues**

Two days passed since the hospital. Two days since I'd last seen Stiles. Two days since I realized how I felt. Two days and it hadn't changed.

It's been radio silence. Stilinski told me he got a text from Stiles saying that he was fine and to not look for him, but we all saw right through that. Anyone with eyes could see right through that.

In those two days, Scott filled me in on how the accident at the hospital occurred. Stiles struggled with himself to not cut the cable, but was overpowered. Overpowered by the nogitsune, I learned. The creature the Oni had attacked all of us for was currently residing in Stiles. That's why he was sleepwalking, that's why he was having night terrors, and terrors in the day. The door to his mind didn't close quickly enough before an evil Japanese spirit slipped its way through the cracks.

Overall this whole situation royally sucked. I was worried out of my mind, and selfishly I was worried about myself. If I wasn't thinking about Stiles and how he was missing, then I was thinking about how I felt for him. About if he felt the same way.

It was stupid given the circumstances, but there was a part residing within me hoping that Stiles just felt the same way I did. A part that I couldn't shake, and a part I didn't want to. It honestly kept me sane, thinking about my feelings, which was a normal thing to do. I was just a teenage girl crushing on a boy, and it felt good to cling onto that. Even if said boy was currently possessed by an evil fox, but that was just a nuance.

I told Ginny how I felt, and it honestly felt great to have someone to talk to about it that had hopefully gone through the same exact thing. She'd experienced her fair share of young love, and told me it was just as wonderful as you'd expect. She also was the one to hold me as I broke down from all of my worries and constant anxiety over him. Ginny acted as my rock, telling me that in order to get to where I wanted to be with him, I had to calm my mind and get to work.

I spoke to Allison and Lydia about it too. Lydia was giving me knowing looks the entire time I sat them down to explain it, and Allison looked about as happy as could be given the situation. I cried to them as well, telling them I didn't know if we could save him. It seemed all I did in those forty eight hours was cry. Allison and Lydia told me the exact same thing Ginny did, I had to buckle down and use my overly large brain to solve this (Allison's words not mine).

I was still in a funk when the second day rolled around. Not feeling motivated to go to school, I lounged around for most of the morning. I decided at around lunchtime that I couldn't be one of those people who sat in their room and wallowed in self pity. In no rush, I took my time getting ready for school. I shaved my legs, dried and styled my hair, even put on some makeup, an activity I reserve for special occasions. I shrugged on a comfy dress and a jacket, slid on some boots, and headed to school.

At this point, I would be able to make the last two periods of school, and it took all I had not to just turn back around. I drove the speed limit to school, in absolutely no rush to get there, and parked my car in the lot. As I walked over to the school, I glanced around and froze in my tracks. Sitting in the parking lot was Stiles' blue jeep, in all it's banged up glory.

Noticing that there was no one inside it, I figured he was inside as well. With a sudden haste, I burst through the doors into the empty hallways. I strode down them until I almost collided with Scott, who had emerged quite suddenly from the boys locker room with Ethan and Aiden in tow. When he saw me, his eyes widened.

"June, what are you-"

"The jeep." I interrupted, "I saw the jeep. What are - what are you three doing?"

"There's an emitter, it's one of Argent's. We think it's here."

"Okay, let's find it." Together with Scott leading the way, we made our way down to the basement of the school. When we got down the stairs, we all looked down the stretch of a hallway to see a lone figure with his back turned to us. My knees started to shake when I recognized the flannel and sneakers.

"Stiles?" I called out to him in a tentative manner. He turned around, and in his hands he was grasping one of Argent's emitters, which was glowing blue. He cautiously put his hands up.

"Okay I know what you guys are thinking, but it's me. Guys, I swear to god it's me." From next to me, Ethan and Aiden bared their teeth and flashed their eyes blue. Surging forward, the twins charged at Stiles. Before I could even react, they grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him up into the air. Scott and I ran to them, and tried to pry them off of Stiles. I magically lifted one of the twins and threw him into the corner, and he roared at me in anger. In no time, Scott was beside me and roaring right back, effectively displaying his dominance. The twins backed off and I looked over to Stiles who was regaining his composure.

He looked at us with wide eyes, his gaze falling on Scott. "It's me," he said. "Scott I swear it's me. I don't know where I've been the last two days or what I've been doing but this is me. I promise."

"Do you know what happened at the hospital?" Ethan said.

"I know more than that," Stiles answered and walked through us to a duffel bag that was sitting on the floor. He pulled out a folded piece of paper.

"See this? It's a blueprint of the hospital's electrical wiring," We stood around him and gazed at the marked up sheet of paper. Circles and handwriting written in red Sharpie. "See all these markings in red, that's my handwriting. I know I did this, I caused the accident. Everything in this bag, it's all part of something bigger." I rummaged through the duffel, seeing all kinds of scary things, like trip wire, duct tape, boxes of screws. I glanced worryingly at Scott, and my gaze fell to Stiles. He was already looking at me, his face searching my own.

Ethan pulled out a small handheld saw. "What the hell have you been up to?" He asked.

"I think something worse," Stiles answered fearfully. "A lot worse."

I pulled the bag up off the floor and stood up. "Then let's find out." Moving over to a table, the boys gathered around me and we started emptying the contents of the bag. We found ropes, cables, and multiple different tools.

"What the hell were you doing, building a terminator?" Aiden asked.

"Thank you for that." Stiles murmured sarcastically. Scott grabbed another piece of paper.

"Guys this is a map," he said. I grabbed it from his hands and began to unfold it, laying it on the table. It was a map of the preserve, with more red markings on it.

"Isn't that the cross country trail?" Ethan pointed to a long red line.

Scott's finger landed on Lookout Point, "That's the Tate car. Where Malia Tate's family died."

"You mean where her father put the steel jaw traps," Stiles said.

"Then we need to get there now." I said, folding up the map and putting everything away. All five of us quickly left the basement and headed to Stiles' jeep. Piling in, I was squished between the two giants that called themselves twins in the backseat. It was a short drive, and we pulled up to the head of the trail.

Getting out, I said aloud, "We should get the werewolves to the front of the group, get them to stop everyone else from running." When everyone was out, Scott and Ethan ran ahead, while Aiden, Stiles, and I stayed behind to talk to a bewildered looking Coach.

"Coach!" Stiles yelled, running up to him.

"Uh - Stilinski! What the-"

"Coach, listen close. All along this trail are steel bear traps meant for hunting."

"Yeah but the police cleared those out weeks ago."

"Coach, we have reason to believe that there might be some left behind," I told him. "We can't let the students run on this trail, we have to stop them. Now!" Together, we all ran up and along a shorter path that would cut across the cross country trail. Scott and Ethan were at the front of it, and Stiles yelled out to him and the student body that was quickly catching up.

"Scott!" he bellowed. "Scott, stop! Stop, stop, stop, Coach! EVERYONE STOP!" He bent down to the ground and rustled through the leaves, picking up a small length of chain that undoubtedly once belonged to a steel trap. However now, it wasn't connected to anything. Stiles picked it up in confusion, and the coach let out a breath of disbelief. He began to clap slowly.

"Congratulations Stilinski, you found a length of chain. Could somebody _now_ please tell me what the hell is going on?" He stepped forward, and I saw his foot tip up a small wire.

"No, Coach-!" Scott and I yelled at the same time. In no time at all, a small arrow lodged itself in the middle of Coach's stomach. My hands flew to my mouth, and I heard the coach mutter "Oh crap," before collapsing to the forest floor.

Stiles, Scott, and I were immediately on him, Stiles and I pressing our hands down on the would. Stiles looked like he was about to remove the arrow when I shot out and grabbed his hand.

"Don't! If you remove it, he could bleed out."

Stiles was trembling, "Then - then what do - what do we do?"

"Just help keep pressure on the wound." I said shakily, and then Coach started to thrash. He also started yelling in what would be a very comical way if there wasn't blood quickly soaking up his shirt.

"AAAAH, GET IT OUT OF ME! GET IT OUT OF ME!"

"Someone call 911!" I yelled over to the crowd of bystanders. I saw two people whip out their cell phones.

"Coach-" Stiles tried to soothe, but it was futile.

"OH MY GOD, I'M GONNA DIE. I'M GONNA DIE, GET IT OUT OF ME! I'M GONNA DIE!"

"Coach! Coach, you're not gonna die," Stiles reasoned with him.

"I'M GONNA DIE!" His eyes were wild and he tried to sit up, and Aiden pushed him back down.

"Coach, it'll hurt less if you stop moving! Coach - _stay still, Coach!_ An ambulance is coming" He told him, then promptly stood up. He waved his arms in large motions, yelling at the other students. "Get back! Give him some room! Get back!"

From next to me, Scott grabbed Coach Finstock's hand and squeezed it tight. I saw black swirls begin to decorate Scott's hand as he took some pain away from Coach. From under my hands, the coach stopped writhing around, and I glanced up at his face. His eyes were shut, and his breathing shallow.

"I think he just passed out," I said. Looking to my left, I saw Stiles staring at his blood soaked and trembling hands.

"I - I could've killed him. I could've killed him! Right, what if it was his head or his throat-?"

"But it wasn't!" Scott assured him. "And he's gonna be alright."

I saw Aiden cock his head, "I think I just heard an ambulance coming." We all began to hear more than one siren. Stiles gazed up, and looked a little apprehensive.

"And my dad."

The paramedics arrived and quickly set to work, letting Stiles and I take our hands off of Coach's wound. They handed us both wet towels to wipe off the blood from our hands and as we were doing so, the sheriff pulled up. Stiles made his way over to go talk to him, and I went back to Stiles' jeep where Scott and Aiden currently were. I stood next to Scott who was surveying the entire scene, while Aiden started digging around in the back of the trunk.

"Scott, June! You guys better look at this." We walked over to him to see him rummaging around in a second duffel bag. Only this one had more boxes of screws and wrapping paper oddly enough.

"This is the same wrapping paper we used on Coach's birthday present."

"Isn't that William Barrow's thing? A bomb made from nails and bolts, all wrapped up in a birthday present?" I asked and Scott's eyes widened.

"Where'd it go off?" Aiden asked as I looked back over to Stiles and his dad. My head whipped back around when I heard Scott.

"On a school bus." Eyes widening, I made no hesitation to run over to the sheriff.

"Sheriff! Sheriff, it's not over!" I said, and Stiles looked at me disbelievingly.

"June, what are you talking about?"

"There's more, there's - there's a bomb. On a school bus." I glanced over to Stiles and his eyes were the size of an anime character's. "There's another duffel in your car," I explained to him, "This one had wrapping paper that you used on Coach's birthday present."

"Like Barrow..." Stiles muttered, and I turned back to the sheriff.

"William Barrow used a shrapnel bomb to blow up kids on a school bus. There is a bomb on a school bus, and we need to get there now." The sheriff grabbed at the walkie talkie on his shoulder and started barking orders into it. I grabbed Stiles' hand and led him back to the jeep. Together, we all squished back inside, and drove off towards the school.

When we got to the school, there was already a crowd forming a considerable distance from the school buses. Scott, Stiles, and I all pushed our way to the front, and went to stand close behind the sheriff. About to board the bus, Deputy Parrish was decked out in protective gear, and held a small kit in his hand. The sheriff nodded at him, and Parrish walked aboard.

Five minutes later, we heard Parrish on the radio of Stilinski's shoulder. "It's not a bomb sir, but there is something in the box." Parrish walked up to the front of the bus and slammed a name plate reading 'Sheriff Stilinski' onto the window pane. My eyes widened and I saw the sheriff shift around.

"Oh my god," I said in realization, at the same time Stilinski started walking around and was yelling into his radio. He wasted no time in climbing back into the SUV, and Stiles turned to look at me.

"What, June? Do you know something?"

"There wasn't a bomb here, but there was your dad's name plate."

"Yeah, so?" Scott asked.

"So," I said in a rush, "So how did he get that name plate if it's supposed to be sitting on Sheriff Stilinski's desk?"

Scott's eyes widened, "So there is a bomb."

I looked over to the retreating police officers, "It's just not here."

* * *

Pulling up to the sheriff's station we could see multiple shattered windows. Thunder rumbled about as I leapt out of the backseat of Stiles' jeep and followed the two boys inside. Looking around, it was absolute chaos. Blood, glass, papers, and people were scattered all on the floor, and I didn't know where to look first. Stiles and Scott rushed forward, and I made to follow when something caught my eye.

Derek Hale was being supported by Chris Argent, and looking closer, I could see shards of glass protruding from Derek's back. I ran over to help Chris get Derek situated on his feet.

"You saved my life," Chris said in disbelief.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Derek kept saying over and over again. I quickly assessed the damage, and turned to Chris.

"It's just glass in his back," I told him, "Nothing a pair of tweezers and some werewolf healing won't fix. Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine, June. Get back to your friends, see if anyone else needs help." I nodded and was about to head over to Scott and Stiles when they got to me first.

"June we need to go, we have to give them some room." I nodded and was about to file out of the door when Kira blocked my path. Her eyes were wide and frightened.

"The Oni, they're coming!"

"They're coming for Stiles," I said, turning to Scott. "We have to get him safe."

Scott nodded, and we all ran outside back to the jeep. Raindrops were starting to fall at a rapid pace, and I overheard Scott tell Stiles to drive to the animal clinic as I was climbing in the backseat next to Kira.

"The animal clinic?" She asked.

"Yeah the place is lined with mountain ash, just like my house. It'll buy us some time."

"Alright but they _can_ get through it."

"Eventually," I stated.

"Anyone else got any better ideas?" Stiles said hopefully. When no one answered, he nodded. "Okay sure. Animal clinic." He shifted gears and stepped on the accelerator.

By the time we got to the animal clinic, it was a downpour outside. I was soaked within several seconds of being outside. Stiles and I raced to the doors with Scott and Kira behind us when we all froze at the sound of hissing. In the shadows appeared four Oni.

Scott turned around and tossed the keys to Stiles. "Stiles, get inside!" He yelled, then raced towards the Oni. While Stiles fiddled with the lock, I turned to see Kira getting closer to the Oni and throwing things at them. I heard the door open and turned around to see Stiles throwing his body against the door to prop it open.

"Hey, Kira get inside!" He yelled.

"Kira!" I screamed, and she didn't listen. Instead she flipped one of the Oni onto its back, and kicked at another one. It was like out of nowhere she decided to become the ultimate badass. Even Scott stopped fighting to watch her. Which was ultimately a mistake. The Oni he was battling took his chance to send his sword into Scott's stomach.

"Scott!" I screamed, and Kira raced forward to take down the last Oni. Stiles rushed ahead and with Kira's help hoisted him up.

"Here get him inside, get him inside!" Stiles yelled, and I propped the door open so they could squeeze through before shutting it entirely. Ahead of me, I saw Stiles and Kira place Scott so that he was leaning against the metal table in the middle of the room. I ran to the other side of it and began searching for medical supplies.

"Kira, take the sword out of his stomach as quick as you can. We can't leave it in him," I yelled over my shoulder as I grabbed a hold of some gauze and disinfectant. Behind me, I heard Kira cry out in pain and a sharp thud from something colliding with the table. When I turned around, I saw Kira unconscious on the ground, and Stiles advancing right to me.

"No, DON'T!" I heard Scott yell.

"Stiles-?" I said, but was cut off when he grabbed the collar of my jacket and shoved me forcefully back into the glass cabinet. I could hear the glass shatter and fall but before I could even register that happening, Stiles lifted me up and slammed me into the ground. I yelled out in pain when I felt myself land on the shards of broken glass.

"Stiles - what-?" But Stiles was nose to nose with me before I could even stutter out anything.

"You're a smart one, _majo_. You know I'm not Stiles." I screamed out in agony when he turned my head so half of my face was digging into the glass. I felt his lips on my ear and I started squirming. "You being in Stiles' dreams does nothing. You can't save him. We won't let you." For good measure, he pressed down before releasing me and walking up over to Scott. I tried to blink away the dark spots clouding my vision, and attempted to move. Too weak to even do that, all I could do was watch Stiles approach Scott.

"You okay?" Stiles asked as his fingers danced on the sword still sticking out of Scott's stomach.

"Please, don't," Scott begged and cried out when Stiles twisted the sword.

"Does it hurt?" Stiles asked calmly. "Hey, look at me. You know you really should've done your reading, Scott. See a nogitsune feeds off chaos, strife, and pain. This morning you took it from Isaac, then from Coach, and then off of a dying deputy. All that pain, you took it all." Stiles grabbed onto Scott's face. "Now, _give it to me_." My eyes widened at how guttural and sinister he sounded. My gaze fell from Stiles and Scott onto the rapidly growing pool of blood that was coming from where my head was. My hand that rested in front of my face was cut up and bloody, trembling profusely.

"You really have to learn, Scott," Stiles said, grinning. "You really have to learn not to trust a fox! No, cause they're tricksters. They'll fool you. They'll fool everyone."

"Not everyone," A new voice said. Looking up, I saw Alan Deaton inject Stiles with something. It was enough to cause him to collapse to the floor, and close his eyes. First order of business, Deaton quickly removed the sword from Scott's stomach, and Scott let out a quick yell of pain. Panting, he turned to Deaton.

"What was that? Is that a cure? Is he okay?"

"The fox is poisoned, but it's not dead. Not yet." Deaton walked over to Stiles and checked him over slightly.

"Is he - will he wake up?" I muttered weakly, as Scott rushed over to me.

"He should wake up in about five minutes. As for you, June, let's get you fixed up."

Scott lifted me up to the metal table and gently laid me down. Every movement he made caused waves of pain to ripple through my body, and I couldn't help but whimper. Deaton rushed over to a counter top and grabbed a tray of supplies that would help me out. Scott meanwhile grabbed my arm, preparing to take my pain.

I hastily grabbed his hand with my good one, and stopped him. "Seriously?" I asked him weakly, "After what _just_ happened?"

"But you're in pain!"

"So are you! I can handle it, just make sure Kira is okay." I told him as Deaton set to work. Scott left my line of sight as he tended to Kira, who was waking up relatively quickly.

"I'm going to be as gentle as possible, June, but this is still going to be extremely painful." Deaton coaxed me, and I looked over to him.

"Just - just ignore me when I yell, then." I said, offering a small and weak smile. With that, Deaton gave me one last smile and began to tend to my wounds. The first one was an abrasion on the back of my head. That was where all the bleeding was coming from, and Deaton had to disinfect it. As soon as he pressed the disinfectant to my head, I immediately cried out in pain. Tears were streaming down my cheeks as Deaton put a wrap over my head, circling it around and around. He gently asked me to sit up and take off my jacket and some of my dress to get to the glass residing in my shoulder.

It was a considerable effort, one that took about five minutes to do. The cleaning up of my shoulder wasn't so terrible, but Deaton said he needed to give me stitches. While he was doing so, Scott was doing everything he could to keep my upright and awake. My head felt incredibly heavy and my eyes were struggling to stay open. My hearing was going in and out but one thing I did hear froze me to my very core.

"Scott?" Everyone stilled and looked over to see Stiles standing up slowly from where he was moved to. Hesitantly, Scott looked over to Deaton who nodded, telling him it was really Stiles.

"Scott, you - you're okay. I just - the sword-"

"I'm fine. The sword's gone."

"And Kira - I - I -" Stiles' eyes widened as he looked around, "Oh my god, _June._ June, is she-" He stopped speaking when his gaze fell onto mine. Skirting around Scott's grasp, he headed over to me. He paused when I flinched at how quickly he was moving, but kept moving forward when I nodded tentatively.

"Jesus, I - I-"

"Nope, it's just June over here," I said groggily.

"You're okay though? I - I mean, she's gonna be alright?" That last part was directed to Deaton.

"She'll be alright long enough to get to a hospital or one of her famous healing potions I've heard so much about."

Stiles' gaze fell back onto mine, and I smiled deliriously. "I've got - I've got Quidditch practice in an hour." I said and fell forward. The last thing I remember before passing out was Stiles' warm arms catching me. Stiles' arms, not whatever was previously controlling him. I felt warm and safe as the darkness overcame me.


	28. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: Ice Cream in a Mug**

Meditation was usually how I soothed myself and my mind. However if music on vinyl was in the picture, meditation could eat shit and die for all I cared. There wasn't much difference in sound, but it still offered that sense of calm. Turntables and records, despite how they faded away for the longest time, still stuck around. It was comforting to know that _something_ in life could last, could survive the test of time. Even if I might not, I could always put on a record and believe I could.

I was sprawled out on my bed with eyes shut, listening to Panic! At The Disco's album on vinyl. The melancholy lyrics of "Collar Full" were swimming through my ears when I heard a knock on my door. I peered one eye open and lifted my head slightly.

"It's open."

I saw Ginny tentatively open the door, and before I could even process that she was coming into my room, Scott burst through from behind her.

"Scott? What-?"

"We have to go." He said slightly breathlessly.

"Go where?"

"Eichen House?" I opened both my eyes.

"The mental institution? What for?" Scott tossed me his phone, and I looked to see it was already open to a conversation. A conversation he had with Stiles not even ten minutes ago. My eyes widened when I got to the part of the conversation where Stiles said he was being checked into Eichen House tonight. My grip tightened on the cell phone when I read the text from Stiles saying goodbye. I didn't like the finality that came with it.

I threw the phone back at Scott and hopped out of bed. I hustled to my closet and picked up my converse, jumping around as I tried to squeeze them on.

"June is everything okay?" Ginny asked me, eyeing Scott worriedly.

"No, it's Stiles." I told her, walking over to my turntable and turning it off.

"It seems it always is," She muttered. Freezing, I slowly turned around to her. She looked a little bit hurt, and I knew why.

"Scott, we have to go," I pulled a sweatshirt off one of the hooks on my wall and started to follow Scott out of my room. He was already heading down the stairs when I stopped next to Ginny. She didn't look me in the eyes when I called her name.

"I know it doesn't seem like we're talking much these days, but I promise as soon as I get back we'll talk." She looked up at me, eyes sad.

"I just want you to know you can always talk to me, June."

I grabbed her hands and squeezed them before pulling her in for a hug. "I know. And trust me, Gin, we've got a lot to talk about." I let go of her and quickly made for the stairs, putting on my jacket at the same time.

When I got outside, Scott was just finishing up buckling his helmet, and then he passed a spare on to me.

"Where do you put this when no one's using it, though?" I asked him in a semi-joking manner.

"Uh - usually it just hangs off one of the handlebars."

"Ugh, sounds exhausting," I said, putting the helmet on and climbing onto the bike. When my hands were secured around Scott's waist, he took off into the night. It wasn't the first time I had ever ridden on a motorcycle, but it was the first time I had ever gone so fast on one. In New York, we couldn't ever go that fast due to the traffic that permanently congested the avenues. Beacon Hills was an entirely different story, however, with the empty roads filled only with silence and cool breezes.

I realized on the back of his bike that it was one of the first quiet nights I'd had in a while. Granted ever since that night at the animal clinic two days ago no one had really bothered me. They all chalked it up to me needing rest after I was literally used as a battering ram against a glass cabinet, but I couldn't help feeling like it was something else.

Scott, Allison, and Lydia had all barely talked to me in the past couple of days. I didn't know if it was because they thought I was going to crack or something, but it still stung regardless. I was being pushed into a corner by my friends only to be ignored for the meantime, and I wasn't sure how to handle it. It wasn't nearly as upsetting as Stiles, though.

Stiles didn't look me in the eye once since we poisoned the nogitsune inside him. He hadn't gone to school, his dad insisted he just work on getting rested up. When I would go over to visit him, he would always claim he was busy, and proceed to shut the door in my face. He even got his father to do the same thing to me as well.

Scott and I didn't bother to park in the parking lot, instead he pulled us right up to the front gates. The same gates where the two Stilinski's were about to head into. I saw Stiles turn around and look at us as Scott and I climbed off the bike.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked Stiles, who still didn't have the decency to look me in the eye.

"Because we wanted to avoid something like this," the sheriff told me. I looked at him disbelievingly.

"You don't talk to me for two days and now this? What - why, Stiles?" I asked him impatiently.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal," he muttered. My jaw dropped.

"Not a big deal? Stiles you are being checked in to a freaking mental institution here, okay? Not going to the doctor's for your annual check-up! This is a huge deal!"

"It's only for seventy two hours," Stiles defended.

"Oh, _only_ seventy two hours," I said, sarcasm dripping from my tone like rain in a storm, "Well in that case by all means."

"And are you forgetting that this is where Barrow came from?" Scott interjected. "The guy who had a tumor inside of him full of live flies?"

I looked to the sheriff, "You don't know everything yet!"

"I know enough," He argued. "Nogitsunes, kitsunes, Oni, or whatever they're called."

Stiles rose his eyebrows, "Actually, that's all surprisingly correct."

"Scott, June, I saw an MRI that looks exactly like my wife's. That terrifies me," Stiles' dad said. I was listening, but my gaze wouldn't leave Stiles, who was gazing at his shoes. "I'm headed to LA tomorrow to meet with a specialist."

"Why are you putting him in here?" Scott asked quietly.

"He's not," Stiles said, looking over to Scott. I was about to scream at how he still wouldn't look at me, "It was my decision."

"Stiles, we can't help you if you're in here," I warned him. His eyes locked with mine for the first time since what felt like when he was getting his MRI.

"And I can't hurt you." His eyes were filled with sorrow and guilt, and I reached for his hand.

"That was _not_ your fault."

"Don't play that card, June. It was my fault, I threw you into that glass cabinet, I slammed your head into the ground. Ginny told me you're lucky you're not in a coma. You would be if it weren't for those stupid healing potions."

I shook my head, "That wasn't you, you were possessed."

He let go of me, "What was possessing me then is still in me now. I need to be away from you, I can't - I can't hurt you like that again. I won't."

"Deaton's got some ideas, Argent's calling people," Scott intervened, "We're gonna find something, and if - if we can't-"

"If you can't," Stiles interrupted, "If you can't then I need you to do something for me, okay? Make sure I _never_ get out." My eyes widened in sadness.

"Stiles-" I could barely speak. Stiles was quick to take my hand again and pull me to the side, away from his father and Scott.

"Look, I know you're going to find something. Okay? I know you're going to figure it out. You're too smart not to." A small smile reached my lips at his words. "For now, it's just seventy two hours. We're gonna make it through this. All of us are."

I sighed, and ran a hand through my hair, "Why does this feel like goodbye? Like every time I see you I'm saying goodbye?"

Stiles brought a hand up to my face, tilting my head back so I would look at him. "This is so far from a goodbye, June. And I promise you, when I get out of here, when all of this crap is over and done with, we'll talk."

"We'll talk?" I asked him.

"You and I both know there's a lot of things we need to talk about." He kissed my forehead and let go of my hands.

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Stilinski," I smiled sadly at him as his father walked him to the gate to be buzzed in. I stood there watching the two of them until Scott clamped a hand on my shoulder, and guided me to his bike. Mind shifting into autopilot, I strapped on the spare helmet and climbed onto the back of Scott's bike, holding onto his waist once more. The entire ride back to my house I thought of nothing but how that conversation was going to go, and how I was determined to make it the best damned conversation that Stiles and I would ever have.

* * *

"Nothing really matters... To me."

I gazed sullenly at the chalkboard wall filled with my writing, listening to Freddie Mercury as his lyrics filled the room. It had been about ten minutes since Scott dropped me off, and all I had managed to do was numbly make my way back to my room. I took out my vinyl of A Night At The Opera and laid back down on my bed. Ginny came in five minutes after Bohemian Rhapsody.

"Hey." She said quietly. I rolled over and sat up as Ginny sat on the edge of the bed.

"Right, I said we'd talk. I'm so sorry, Gin."

"Don't be sorry, June. Just tell me what happened." I looked more closely at her to find she was carrying two mugs of what I could only assume were filled with ice cream.

It was a weird tradition that we had created sort of on the fly. I was fourteen, and I had experienced my first break-up. The boy, Dorian, had been my first kiss, and I thought we were pretty legit. Unfortunately, all the moves he pulled on me he turned around and pulled on this girl named Aubrey. I guess I should have seen it coming with the overly preppy names and all, but it still stung. So when all was said and done, I made my way over to Ginny's studio on 38th.

She let me in, and instead of researching or working on my magic that night, we ate ice cream together from the only dishes she had that were clean: two grey mugs. She let me vent to her, and she told me all about her first breakup. I knew it wasn't love or anything of the sort, I'd never been in love. But it still hurt quite a bit. It hurt slightly less eating cookie dough ice cream from that mug in Ginny's apartment.

It became a staple in our relationship. She was always open with me as I was with her, and our trust in each other as well as communication improved greatly after that day. Whenever one of us wanted to talk to each other, we'd supply the Ben and Jerry's while the other supplied the mug. I spent many afternoons walking down to Hell's Kitchen toting ice cream after that day. It was something I held very dear to my heart, and it made me want to cry all over again seeing her carry in those mugs.

"Honey what is going on?" She handed me the mug and I took it gratefully, sitting up on my bed all the way now. I took a small bite of ice cream trying to stall my answer. "Is this about your crush on Stiles?"

"It's not a crush, Ginny. Not anymore," I replied, shaking my head. "I think I'm really in love with him. And it's terrifying."

"Well of course it is, June. Nothing that great ever comes without fear."

"I don't know, I've just - I think I picked a really shitty time to fall in love for the first time." I took a bigger bite of the ice cream, eyes watering.

"You mean with the nogitsune?" I nodded fervently.

"It's all such a big mess. I don't know if he feels like I do, but I'm more afraid that I'll never get the chance to ask him. He could die, this spirit could be killing him, and I have no idea how to save him."

"Well if I know anything, June, it's this: That boy thinks the world of you. I know it for a fact, and I feel it in my bones how much he cares for you. I mean, you should have seen his face the last two times he'd been here. Granted, both times you were in severe danger, but I've never seen anyone act the way he did."

I scrunched my eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

"Honey, he looked at you like you were made up of every single thing worth living for. I can't speak for him and say he loves you, but I know that if he doesn't yet, he will."

I shed several tears, and took another scoop of ice cream. "But does it even matter now? He's possessed, and none of us have a clue when it comes to saving him. I mean," I looked up to the ceiling in disbelief, "We've had my IQ tested, I know I'm above average when it comes to using my mind. And I still haven't got the slightest inkling in how to save the one person that I-" I stopped, letting out a shaky breath and closing my eyes.

"I don't know what to do. I don't even know how to help someone when I can't even figure out what's going on with me."

Ginny put her spoon in her mug and started rubbing soothing circles into my back, "Tell me what's going on with you."

I sniffled, wiping my nose on my sleeve. Setting down my now empty mug on my nightstand, I turned to face Ginny. "My ability, the newest one. I don't think it's the Sight. Not now anyway."

Gin cocked her head, "How so?"

"I mean it's only manifested in my dreams, like you said, but something happened that I can't explain. The night Stiles went missing but was just sleepwalking, something happened."

"Like what?"

"I had a dream about him that night. Just before Scott called me to tell me he was missing. I dreamt I was in this - this crawlspace of sorts. I was trapped, I could barely move around. It turns out I was stuck with what I could only describe as a mummy."

"A mummy?"

"Yeah oddly that's not what's weird about this whole thing," I told her, "The mummy was dressed in like 1940's clothing. Anyways, I was stuck in that room when I heard someone on the other side. They were yelling out in pain, and I realized it was Stiles."

"Stiles was in your dream?"

"Yeah and I tried to get his attention. I was talking to him through this wall, and another voice came through. He started talking to Stiles, telling him that I couldn't help him. As soon as he said that, the mummy I was stuck in the crawlspace with came alive-"

"It came alive?!"

"Yes, alive. He came alive and started talking to me, telling me the same thing: that I couldn't help him at all. It was awful, and I started screaming right before I woke up."

"Okay, so what's the weird part if it's not the mummy?"

"Right after I helped Agent McCall rescue Stiles, I was warming him up in the car. I don't know if he was delirious from the cold or not, but still."

"What did he say?"

"Well he told me I was in his dream with him. He said in the dream I was trapped on another side of a wall, and that I was screaming." I looked up at Ginny, whose eyes were wide.

"I've read all about witches entering dreams, Ginny. They're never like that."

Ginny swallowed, "Did anything else happen?"

I nodded, "When Stiles wasn't Stiles, but the nogitsune, and he slammed me into that cabinet. Right before he went to attack Scott, he told me that being in Stiles' dreams wouldn't do anything. He said that I couldn't save him."

"Like the mummy in your dream." I stood up and started pacing.

"I just don't understand! Entering dreams is such a precise magic that there's no way a witch can enter unintentionally. It requires such concentration, witches can't just do it in their sleep!"

"No they can't." Ginny said quietly.

"And add that on top of those weird dreams I had about everyone laying dead on top of the nemeton. Like the ones of Allison and you, how I saw the darach in my dreams before I ever saw it in real life." I flopped back onto my bed and sighed.

"What the hell is happening?" I asked. It wasn't necessarily directed at Ginny, more so just me asking to hear it said aloud. Ginny didn't say anything for about five minutes. She let out a quick huff of air before standing up and walking around to my nightstand. I followed her with my eyes as she picked up the mug on the table, then turned to me, extending her hand.

"C'mon, get up." She said. I took her hand as she pulled me up.

"What are we doing?"

"What we do best. We're going to research and record."

"At midnight?" I smirked.

"Scholars don't wait for reasonable hours, June. The time's never stopped us before." I nodded, thinking back to those late nights we spent poring over the coven's research back in New York. I walked with Ginny downstairs into the large study that doubled as the room that I practiced my magic in.

Ginny began pulling down certain books from the many shelves lining the wall and piling them up on the large desk. "June," She started, "Grab some fresh notebooks. And some more ice cream, it's gonna be a long night."

Long night indeed. We spent hours reading over some of the books we wrote in as well as some of the books we had snuck out of New York. I should have been doubled over in exhaustion but I was the opposite. I was thriving, I was working, keeping my mind busy. I felt useful, and it made me feel like we were headed somewhere, instead of staying in one place taking punch after punch the nogitsune threw.

Five o'clock runs around, and all the books on relevant subjects were opened and skimmed through at least once. We hadn't found anything helpful, unfortunately. I slammed a book shut in frustration.

"What does this mean, then?" I asked Ginny.

"I think it means something really rare and special," Ginny concluded.

"I feel like when you say 'rare and special,' it's the coven saying 'inconclusive and dangerous' all over again."

"I say rare because I think you might actually have developed an entirely new branch of magic witches haven't seen before."

I didn't know if it was the sleep deprivation catching up with me, or if I really heard her properly, but my mind had to take a few seconds to catch up to what she just said. "I'm sorry did you say _new magic_?" I threw my head back and groaned in frustration when Ginny nodded.

"As if I didn't have enough going on with me," I muttered. I sighed and straightened up. "What do you mean new?"

"I mean I think you may have developed a new form of magic that either hasn't been recorded or hasn't happened yet."

"Ever?"

"This has occurred more frequently over the past generations, don't think you're so special," Ginny smiled at me as I glared daggers at her.

"So this supposed new ability, is it along the lines of something we do know? Or is it just new all around?"

"Fortunately, I think we've caught a break here. I think that whatever this is, it's tied to you're empathetic magic." My eyebrows shot up.

"Empathy? How?"

Ginny leaned back in the chair she was currently occupying, "You've linked yourself with Scott and the pack."

"Well I like to think that's because I'm actually a part of Scott's pack."

"Right, but no witch has ever been a part of a wolf pack before. Scott McCall, the true alpha, a rarity in itself has a pack consisting of werewolves, kitsunes, banshees, humans, and witches. There isn't anything like it, and I think that's coming to light in your magic."

"How do you figure?"

"You being in Scott's pack tied with your ability to physically transfer emotions back and forth created something."

"Something like-?" I was anxious for her to get to the point.

"I think you keeping your friends so close to you has resulted in there literally being no boundaries. And what I mean by that is that your magic is heightened in a way like no other. You've become essentially limitless when it comes to your pack. You can enter their dreams, see their futures, all because you're emotionally anchored to them."

"But if that's true, how come that's never worked with a coven before?"

"I'm not entirely sure, it's a working theory."

I paused, thinking. "Maybe because it's not so uniform. I mean, a coven of witches is a coven of witches, there's magic all around. But not everyone in Scott's pack possesses magic, they all bring something else to the table."

Ginny shrugged, "I suppose so. Either way, all we can do for now is just treat this like an experiment. Form a hypothesis, gather data, and try again. From now on, anything possibly pertaining to this is relayed to me immediately, got it?"

My stomach let out a loud noise, "Got it, but can we start later? I'm in need of some grub, Cookie."

Ginny laughed, and we both made our way to the kitchen. The sun was rising through the windows as Ginny and I pulled out all the stops to make a feast for breakfast. It felt like old times, for Ginny and I always made a huge breakfast after I slept over at her apartment or whenever we pulled an all-nighter researching. I smiled the entire time we cooked. When I ran upstairs to grab my phone, I saw a text message from Scott saying he could pick me up to head over to Allison's. I invited him over for breakfast and asked him what was going on. He replied saying he was starving, and that we were all meeting up at Allison's because they had a plan in the works.

The smile on my face grew larger, finally feeling like we were moving forward in the effort to save Stiles and get back to normal. Well, as normal as a werewolf pack could get.

* * *

I didn't have time to shower, as Scott was downstairs no doubt shoveling Ginny's cooking into his mouth. I threw my hair up into a bun and threw on my jeans and tee shirt. I grabbed a denim jacket lined in faux fur and threw on some boots. Making sure to grab my phone, I ran back downstairs.

"So why are we worried about this dead Japanese mob boss?" I asked Scott as I entered the kitchen. He swallowed the giant mouthful of potatoes, and cleared his throat.

"There's a scroll called the Shugendo scroll."

"Like the mystics in Japan?" Scott rolled his eyes at my question.

"Is there anything you _don't_ know, June?" I smiled.

"I don't know why this scroll is so important," I said, pouring myself a glass of orange juice.

"The scroll we're looking for has information on how to exorcise the nogitsune." The glass that was about to reach my lips never made it. I froze, then promptly put the glass back down on the counter.

"It can exorcise the nogitsune?"

"We hope."

"Do we have any idea where this thing is, then?"

"Locked up in evidence, actually." I scrunched my eyebrows, gazing at Scott.

"What do you mean?"

"It turns out the last person to purchase the scroll was Kincaid, a man Allison said worked for Katashi. Mr. Argent said that being as paranoid as he is, Katashi would keep something as valuable as a Shugendo scroll on him at all times."

"Wouldn't that be obvious though, a man holding a scroll all the time?"

"No not exactly. Deaton said the scroll could come in any size. It might even be small enough to hide in something as small as a prosthetic finger."

I nodded in understanding. Slapping Scott lightly on the arm, I commented, "Look at you go, so smart. But it's like you said, the finger's in lockup. How do you plan to get it? Stilinski can't get it to you, he's in enough trouble as it is."

"That's what we're headed to Allison's for. We need to steal it, without the sheriff's help." Scott's phone rang out as I downed the glass of orange juice.

"That was Ethan. Him and Aiden are going to meet us at Allison's. You ready?" I nodded and grabbed my phone. I turned back around and gave Ginny a huge hug.

"Thanks for the breakfast, Ginny!" I heard Scott say over my shoulder.

"Thank you for tonight, I needed it." I kissed her on the cheek and followed behind Scott for the second time in less that twelve hours. I once again hopped onto his bike and we sped off. When we got to Allison's apartment building, the twins were leaning up against their bikes. We all met up at the front doors and walked in to the lobby. Together, we climbed into the elevator and ascended to where Allison was. We all go off, and I tentatively knocked on the door. The door opened to Allison. Wasting no time, she walked us down the hallway.

"My father said that all the Katashi evidence is being moved to a federal lockup by armored car tonight. Probably within the next few hours." I followed behind and saw Lydia standing in the doorway to the Argent's study.

"We're going to rob an armored car?" One of the twins asked behind me.

"Well," Lydia started in a tone I didn't like, "We're gonna try."

* * *

"This is a terrible plan." Scott said.

"It's not that bad," Lydia tried to reassure.

"It's not that good," Aiden said.

"None of us knows the route they're going to take, unless June out of nowhere knows how to read minds too." There was a pause and everyone looked to me. I threw my hands up in the air.

"What am I, Charles Xavier?" Lydia shook her head and turned to the rest.

"If Allison can get one of her dad's GPS trackers on the armored car, then we can follow it."

"So when it gets here-" Allison pointed to the Roosevelt Bridge on the map sprawled out on a desk.

"We attack them," Ethan said.

"No," Lydia stated, slightly annoyed. "Your bikes will be in the middle of the road, looking like you got into an accident. And when the driver gets out to help-"

"We attack them," Ethan tried again.

"No!" Allison, Lydia, and I all said.

"You'll distract him," Lydia continued, "And Scott will break open the back door."

Scott's mouth was opened and his eye twitched, "I hope."

Lydia rolled her eyes, "And you will get Katashi's finger."

"It's not his actual finger is it?" Aiden asked. Scott looked at us, wondering the same thing.

I sighed, "We are so out of our league, here."

"Why aren't we just going to Stilinski for help?" Aiden tried.

"We can't. If he get's caught, then it's the sheriff tampering with federal evidence," I explained. "He's in deep with Scott's dad as it is, we don't need to add another reason for McCall to fire him." I looked over at Scott, who was giving me a pointed look. "Not helping, I know."

"Guys this is gonna work," Allison assured us. "We can do this. We're losing Stiles, my dad is in jail for murder, we need to do this."

* * *

Like all of our plans seem to, it didn't go very well. I guess I should have seen that coming as soon as Scott said "Give me the finger." In yet another stroke of dumb luck, we managed to get the scroll, which is why we were currently standing in Deaton's clinic.

"Surely June could've helped you translate?"

"I only know a couple kanjis, and sadly those are all from anime. I'm more of an ancient language kind of girl."

"Like Latin?" Deaton asked.

I scoffed, "Too easy. I'm working on Cuneiform."

Deaton raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "Right. Well my Japanese is a little rusty as well. There isn't much here either, unfortunately."

"Does it say anything?"

"Again, my Japanese isn't great, but it appears to say that one method of expelling a nogitsune is to change the body of the host."

"Change the body?" I asked.

"Which begs the question, how do we change Stiles' body?" My eyes widened and I exchanged a quick glance with Scott.

"By turning him into a werewolf." He answered.

"Excuse me," We all whirled around at the sound of a new voice. I saw Malia Tate standing in the doorway clutching a sword and what looked to be a photograph.

"Malia?" She nodded. "What - what are you doing here?"

"I was told I could come here by Morrell. I'm looking for Scott."

Scott's eyebrows went up, "Me? Why?"

Malia handed over the picture and sword, "Stiles said to get these to you."

My eyes widened and I spoke. "Stiles? You were at Eichen? Is he okay? Is he safe?"

"You must be June," Malia said to me, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. "As for your questions, I don't know. One minute we were both tasered by an inmate, the next he hit said patient over the head with a drill and walked out of Eichen. Morrell said something about a nogitsune? She said you'd know what that meant."

My knees began to shake and my lip quivered. He wasn't safe. The poison had run its course, and now Stiles was being controlled yet again by the nogitsune. I ran my hands through my hair and pulled at the roots, while Malia watched me with curious eyes.

Scott tapped me on the arm. "June, look at this." I glanced over to see that he was staring at the photograph intently. Sniffling, I leaned over to look at it too. My mouth dropped when I looked at the photo. Grabbing it, I flipped it over to see in small writing the year 1943.

"But that looks just like-"

"Kira," Scott interrupted me. "It looks just like Kira."

* * *

I was sitting in the sheriff's cruiser with Allison in the backseat, headed to Stiles' house when I got a call from Scott.

"Hey look, the sheriff just got an alert about someone breaking into his house. That someone is Stiles, so you gotta be quick. Did you find anything out?"

"Yeah. The woman in the picture is Kira's mom."

"Her mother? Wouldn't that make her like ninety years old?"

"She said more along the lines of nine hundred."

"Oh. Right. Anything else?"

"Yeah, she summoned the nogitsune to seek revenge on military officers at the Oak Creek internment camp for killing the man she was in love with."

"Sounds a bit harsh but okay."

"Anyways, she thought she killed the nogitsune, but it turns out that you can't."

"Well obviously not since it's possessing Stiles," I shifted uncomfortably when I saw the sheriff flinch at my choice of words.

"She basically just told us that the only way to kill it is to kill Stiles."

"Okay well we're gonna not do that," I said. "We'll just have to stick to our plan of using non-lethal weapons on him for now. I'll text you if anything happens." I hung up the phone and we pulled into an empty driveway.

We got inside the house and up into Stiles' room. No one was there except for Derek and Chris Argent. Stiles had already vanished. The most prominent feature in his room was the chessboard sitting on his desk. The pieces all had different colored sticky notes on them, and when I got a closer look, I saw that they had names written on them as well.

"Take a look at this," Argent said, "What are these sticky notes for?"

"This is what Stiles used to try and explain to me about all of - you."

"Well maybe it's a message from Stiles," Allison suggested. "The real Stiles."

"Is there any reason why my name is on the king?" Derek asked.

"Well you're heavily guarded." The sheriff replied.

"Right but the alarming detail is that - is that he's one move from being a checkmate. Meaning this isn't a message from Stiles." I said.

"It's a threat from the nogitsune." Chris finished.

"He's at the loft, that's what he's trying to tell us." Allison figured.

"And he wants us to go there," Her father added.

"Night's falling," Derek mentioned.

"This couldn't sound anymore like a trap," Chris tried to reason with the indecisive sheriff.

"I don't think it is," He said.

"I think your opinion might be slightly biased, Sheriff."

"Hear me out. What we're dealing with here, is basically someone who lacks motive. No rhyme, no reason, right?"

"Meaning what?" I asked.

"Our enemy's not a killer. It's a trickster. The killing is just a byproduct."

"If you're trying to say he won't kill us, I'm not feeling too confident about that."

"It won't," I agreed. All heads turned to me, "He's right. It wants irony, it - it wants to play a trick. It wants a joke. All we need to do is come up with a new punchline."

"Well the sun is setting," Chris said. "What do you two have in mind?"


	29. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: I Can't Read Minds, but I Can Visit Them**

 _Headed to Derek's. Stiles is there. Requesting backup, over and out._

I'll admit, the last bit was a little lame, but I hoped it got the urgency across to Scott as I hit send on my phone. Within two minutes, I received a response from Scott saying he and Kira were on their way.

"Scott's on his way," I said to the sheriff as I hopped out of the cruiser. Together we all slammed our doors shut and saw Derek and Chris pull up next to us in front of the loft. We all shared a look and headed inside.

When we were about to get to Derek's front door, the sheriff turned around and addressed us.

"Now remember, it's just me. Let me talk to him and see if that works."

"And if it doesn't?" Derek asked.

"Then you guys will go in," The look on his face said that he was really hoping we wouldn't have to go in.

"We'll need some sort of signal that you need us," I told the sheriff.

Stilinski sighed, "Trust me, you'll know it." I raised an eyebrow, and before I could ask him anything else, he ascended the remaining few steps and walked into Derek's loft. We all listened with bated breath for the worst to happen. Several minutes pass, and Derek was just about to charge in when I halted him.

"Shh, stop." I said and we listened to what sounded like handcuffs go on. The next thing we all heard was indeed a very clear signal.

"You're not my son." I heard the handcuffs break and took that as our cue to walk in. We all menacingly formed a semi-circle around the nogitsune, leaving him no room for escape. Allison and I found ourselves on the sheriff's right side, while Derek and Allison's father took the left. Smirking, Stiles stared intently at me before shifting his cold gaze over to Allison.

She raised her hands to reveal a taser, and fired at him. In the blink of an eye, he caught the wires extending out to him, the electricity seeming to have no effect on him at all. His cold, vengeful gaze never left Allison's as he wrenched the taser out of her grasp, throwing it to the floor.

Derek didn't miss a beat, he bared his fangs and flashed his eyes before launching over to him. Had it been Stiles he was attacking, Stiles would have ended up as chopped liver. However, the nogitsune quickly grabbed Derek's arm, twisting it unnaturally behind his back and slamming his head into a table. When Derek tried to bounce back, Stiles sent him flying into an exposed post. My body froze when the next thing I heard was Argent whip out his gun.

The room stilled when he aimed it at Stiles. What made it so eerie was how unwavering Chris looked. His face was calm and his eyes shone bright.

"Argent, listen to me," The sheriff began, "Don't do this."

"Why not?" Chris asked. "I've done it before. Werewolves, berserkers, I could easily add a nogitsune to the list." It was at that point that Sheriff Stilinski took out his gun and aimed it directly for his head. The nogitsune took on a very amused expression.

"You're not gonna shoot my son."

"You said it yourself, Sheriff. That's not your son."

"Put it down. _Put it down!_ "

"Dad, he's gonna shoot me," I flinched when I heard Stiles' voice. I knew it wasn't him, but I guess that's the thing with tricksters. They love fooling you. "He's gonna kill me, _Dad._ "

"Don't listen," Chris said simply.

"Put it down," Stilinski ignored him. "Put it down, _now!_ DO IT! PUT IT DOWN!"

Stiles turned to face Argent, "Pull the trigger." Allison's dad looked at a loss for a brief second, then adjusted his grip on the gun. "Go on, shoot me." He said it so quietly, I could barely hear it over the sheriff's yelling. Then Allison joined in.

"Dad-"

"SHOOT ME!"

"PUT THE GUN DOWN!"

"SHOOT ME!"

"ARGENT, YOU PUT IT DOWN!"

My eyes widened at all of what was happening. "Strife," I whispered, and I didn't think anyone heard me, but Allison whirled around at what I said. My eyes were wide as I looked at her. "Strife," I said again, this time a bit louder but not loud enough to be heard over the yelling still happening. The next thing we realized was that the room had darkened as night had fallen.

Allison shook her head. "Stop, stop it! This is what he wants, this is _exactly_ what he wants!"

Everyone calmed down, and Stiles looked over at us, "Not exactly. I was kinda hoping Scott would be here." He slowly started walking to the two men who still hadn't moved. "But I'm glad you all have your guns out. But you're not here to kill me," He turned to face the large windows where several shadows appeared. "You're here to protect me."

The Oni were quick to start moving, but a circle had already formed around the nogitsune. Together, guns blazing, knives and claws slashing, and magic - well - magicking, we fought off the relentless demons. It was slightly difficult to do so when behind me all I could hear was the trickster shouting out in Stiles' voice, "June, don't let them hurt me. Please, June, they're gonna kill me."

It was just starting to be too much when it all came to a sudden halt. The Oni disappeared from the loft, and when I whirled around, I realized Stiles did as well. Of course, as soon as all the fighting was over, Scott and Kira ran inside the loft.

"What happened?" Scott asked.

"They disappeared," Allison answered, "They literally just vanished."

"And so did Stiles," the Sheriff said. We all took a collective sigh before assessing the damage done to everyone. Derek had a nasty cut on his shoulder that was already healing, Argent was merely toying with a gun that had been tampered with, while Allison sheathed her knife. As for me, as soon as I regained normal breathing patterns, my eyes started to droop. Scott reached out for my arm.

"June, are you okay?"

I nodded slowly, "Yeah I just, I'm sort of running on fumes. I kind of pulled an all nighter the night before we got Katashi's finger. Honestly, I don't think I've slept these past few days."

The sheriff pat me on the shoulder, "C'mon, I'll take you home. Does anyone else need a ride?" When they all shook their heads, Stilinski nodded, and guided me outside to his cruiser. I slowly got in and buckled my seatbelt. When I looked over to him, he looked just as tired as I did, but for different reasons entirely.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. Broken out of his train of thought, he looked over to me.

"Sorry for what?"

"You said that if Stiles was in my hands then he was in good hands, and I just don't think that's true. I just - if it was true, I feel like we would have saved him by now." I shifted my gaze out the window, watching everything go by as we drove home.

"June, I don't know what to say to make you feel better except that I've been feeling the exact same way. I mean, I'm his father for Christ's sake, I should be able to protect him. And I haven't."

"But it's a spirit possessing him, how could you protect him from that?"

"I could ask the same about you." I pursed my lips and looked down. "Look, June. All I'm trying to say here is that I know for a fact that every single person working on this feels the exact same way that you do. Like they should have done something to prevent this. Well, we're here now, in this situation. We can't change the past, and we sure as hell can't ponder on past choices."

I smiled, "How'd you learn that?"

"I learned that the hard way with my wife. Our past is gone."

"Did it go by like dusk to dawn?" I said after a short pause, and it earned me the first genuine laugh I heard the sheriff let out since - well, since Stiles and I rescued him from the nemeton. He pulled up to his driveway.

"What matters to me now, and what should matter to you, is what happens moving forward, and the choices we plan to make. Are you planning on giving up on my son?"

I looked over to Stilinski, "I don't think I could ever give up on your son."

He smiled, "Good. Me either."

Tears lined my eyes and I leaned in to hug him. After we embraced, I sniffled and unbuckled my seatbelt. I got out the car with a quiet "Thanks, Sheriff" and I headed across the street to my house. When I got to my room, I shrugged off my jacket and boots. Too tired to do anything else, I got under the covers and was out in under a minute.

* * *

"Great so I'll be over in an hour."

"Wha - hello, Lydia. Good morning. That's typically how you start a conversation."

"I'm not about to start this with you. You're in a funk, and we're going to have a nice day so help me God."

"A nice day consisting of...?"

"I don't know that yet, but we're going to have fun. Also, dress nice."

"What? Why?"

"Putting together a nice outfit puts yourself together. It'll make you feel better."

"It'll make me feel better or you feel better?" I said, begrudgingly feeling better just talking about it.

"So I'll be over in an hour," She said, ignoring the question. "And wear something nicer than your usual ensemble that nine times out of ten consists of jeans and converse." Leaving no room for debate, she hung up. Smiling to myself, I plugged my cell phone in (something I was too tired to do last night), and headed for the shower.

When Lydia got to my house an hour later as promised, she gazed over my dress and sweater. "Not exactly what I would have gone for, but it'll do."

I quirked an eyebrow and nodded, "Uh-huh. How are those Louboutin's treating you?"

She narrowed her eyes at me, "They're fine. Amazing, adorable, and mine. You gave them to me, remember?"

I nodded, "No, I do." I said sarcastically, "Just because I don't dress like you everyday doesn't mean I can't dress well."

She rolled her eyes, "You should, June. First impressions are everything."

"First impressions for who? I'm not meeting the queen!" Lydia sighed and tugged my hand so we could leave my house. I froze when I saw Aiden leaning against her car.

"Lydia, no offense, but I'm not third-wheeling."

"Well it's a good thing it's not a date."

"Then what are we doing?"

"There's a new Chinese restaurant that I've been dying to try. So we're going to go there, and then decide what to do."

I stomped my foot similarly to that of a child who was pouting. "Fine, but I'm riding shotgun."

We all piled in the car, and my mood lifted slightly at the sight of Aiden, a very large werewolf, sitting in the not-so-large backseat. We started driving for awhile, and I realized we weren't really going anywhere familiar.

"Where did you say this restaurant was?" I asked.

"About that, before we get there, I just need to check on something."

"Who's Malia Tate?" Aiden asked from the backseat. He pronounced it with more stress on the first syllable rather than the last. I spun in my seat to see Aiden holding a sheet of paper with an address on it.

"Malia," Lydia corrected, "And you both don't need to worry about it." She kept driving until she made another turn.

"Well I'm actually worried that we're totally lost," I mentioned, and Lydia glanced over at me confused. "That was our fourth right turn, and four rights make a circle."

"I did not!" She defended, "Did I?" Aiden and I gave her pointed looks and she went on. "It's a brand new car, the GPS was fine before." My eyes widened and I looked back at Aiden.

"Well maybe the GPS would work better if it was on," Aiden told her. Lydia started fiddling with the dashboard, pressing all kinds of buttons in a panicky way.

"Lyds-" I started, "You okay?"

"I need to stop," She said, then abruptly jerked the wheel sending the car into a parking lot. "I need to pull over right now!"

"Lydia," I tried again, and she kept swerving around, barreling into an empty part of the lot. Well, almost empty.

" _Lydia, stop!_ " I cried out, and she slammed on the breaks. Gazing just ahead, I saw a body laying perfectly still in the middle of the road.

"Oh my god," I said as we all rushed to get out of the car. Running forward, I got a closer look at what I could now see was Stiles, with a giant slash across his abdomen. I wasted no time after I recognized him in getting to his side.

"Aiden, help me with him!" I barked behind me, and within an instant, Aiden was next to me, helping me lift Stiles. Lydia was still frozen in place as we carried Stiles back to her car.

"Lydia, start the car," I ordered as I climbed into the backseat, still carrying Stiles. Aiden fit the rest of his body in the back with me and hopped into the front seat.

"Aiden, call Scott. Tell him we're headed to his house, and that we need to get Melissa there as well."

"What - why Melissa?" Aiden said, pausing the dialing of his phone to look back at me.

"Because he's in need of medical assistance, if you didn't notice!" I exclaimed in a panic, and Aiden nodded.

"Lydia, drive to-"

"Scott's, I heard. I'm on it," She said and we pulled out of the parking lot. I dug out my cell phone from my bra and quickly dialed a number I hadn't used yet.

"Beacon Hills Animal Clinic, this is Dr. Deaton speaking."

"Deaton! It's June," I said in a tone that would hopefully grasp his attention entirely.

"June, is everything alright?"

"Not in the slightest," I answered. "We found Stiles, or the nogitsune, I guess both. Anyways, he's out cold and we're taking him to Scott's."

"And you're telling me this because...?"

"Because I have no idea what to do now that we've actually caught the nogitsune. And nothing against them, but I don't think my friends do either."

"I see what you mean. I'll be at Scott's shortly."

"Thanks, Doc," I hung up the phone and glanced down at Stiles. Possession was hitting him hard, as expected. His lips were chapped and cracked, there were dark circles around his eyes, and his skin was white. My hands were shaking as I rode in the back of Lydia's new car, headed to Scott's house to hopefully save the boy in my lap.

* * *

Scott relieved me from holding up Stiles as we took him into his house. Everyone was already at his house, all waiting on us. We headed inside and to the living room.

"The couch, put him on the couch," Scott instructed, and he and Aiden gently placed him into a sitting position, Stiles' head lolling around.

"Guys, this is crazy. He needs to be in the _hospital_ ," Melissa said.

"Mom," Scott argued, "Remember what happened the last time he went to the hospital?"

Deaton inspected the wound on Stiles' stomach, "It doesn't look like he's bleeding. I think he might even be healing."

"You mean healing like we heal," Aiden said.

"That's good, right?" Scott asked.

"For him, yes. Us? I'm not so sure."

"Why don't we just kill him now? Before he hurts anybody else?" My eyes widened and my jaw dropped as I looked over to Aiden.

"No!" I said.

"Why not? He's done enough damage, what's to say he won't do more if we don't stop him?"

"Interesting, I remember having the same conversation with Isaac about you and your brother," I said as Aiden rolled his eyes and sighed. "We're not killing him."

"Well if we aren't gonna kill him, why aren't we at least tying him down with really big chains?"

"I might have something more effective," Deaton answered, grabbing his suitcase and pulling out a small vial. Scott seemed to know what it was, and he and Aiden went to Stiles, propping open his mouth. Deaton took the lid that doubled as a dropper off and dispensed the liquid into the unconscious boy's mouth. As soon as it touched his tongue, Stiles sprang awake and proceeded to clench a hand around Aiden's throat.

Scott struggled with Stiles for a moment as Aiden yelled to get Stiles off of him, when suddenly he froze. The nogitsune relinquished his grip, and seemed to melt into the couch. There was something off about his movements, though. Like he unwillingly stopped moving.

"Kanima venom," Stiles spat, "Nice touch."

Aiden roared at Stiles, who didn't miss a beat. "You know they say that twins get a feeling? When the other one's in pain? You didn't lose that talent too, did you?" When he was met with no response, he continued, "Oh, I hope not. You're gonna need it."

We all silently looked at each other, Aiden more so in fear.

"Okay, I'll give a little hint: Ethan's at the school."

Aiden looked back to Scott for permission, and Scott fervently nodded. "Go!" He exclaimed, and Aiden made his exit. Meanwhile, Stiles was laughing tauntingly as he watched him leave.

"Oh, I hope he gets there in time! I like the twins. Short tempers, homicidal compulsions. They're a lot more fun than you bakemono trying to save the world everyday."

"Doc you brought something to paralyze his body. You got anything for his mouth?" Melissa asked.

"Yes I do," the vet answered. He tore off a piece of duct tape and put it over Stiles' mouth. He let out a muffled yell, then proceeded to laugh maniacally. Melissa said something about cleaning up his wound, while Lydia pulled me into the kitchen. Waiting for me were Scott and Deaton.

"How much time do we have?" I asked.

"I wish I knew," Deaton replied, "But if we don't figure out something soon, we're going to _need_ a better place to keep him. I think we are grossly underestimating the danger here. He might be paralyzed but - it still feels like he's got us right in the palm of his hand." We all looked over into the living room to see Stiles staring right back at us.

"Then we need to move fast. What do we know about saving him?" I said.

"The Shugendo scroll," Scott said.

"The scroll said to change his body," Lydia mentioned.

"Yes, that's if I translated it correctly," Deaton said. "We might be looking for a cure in something that might be nothing more than a proverb, or a metaphor."

"And what if he doesn't want it?" Scott asked. "He's never asked to be a werewolf."

"What if it saves his life?" Lydia argued.

"What if it kills him?" I countered.

"And I've never done this before," Scott explained, "What if I bite him, and - and accidentally hit an artery or something?"

"That venom is not gonna last long," Deaton said. "Something needs to be done, and soon."

"I'm going to try calling Derek again," I spoke, pulling out my phone.

"Maybe we should try calling someone else," Lydia offered.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Someone like who?"

* * *

Peter circled around Stiles, gazing at him in a scrutinizing manner. "He doesn't look like he'd survive a slap across the face much less survive the bite of a werewolf," He concluded.

"You don't think it would work?" Scott asked.

"This is more a war of the mind than of the body," Peter answered. "There're better methods for winning this battle.

"What kind of methods?" I spoke. Peter grabbed Scott's hand, and made him bare his claws in front of the nogitsune's face.

"We're gonna get into his head." After he answered, Lydia pulled him into the kitchen. Scott made to follow, but I tugged on his hand.

"What does that mean, get into his mind?"

Scott sighed, "I have an idea, but if I'm right, it's not ideal."

I scoffed, "When are we ever in an ideal situation?"

He was about to reply when Lydia and Peter came back into the room. "Do we have a plan?" I asked. Peter went and gripped the side of the couch Stiles wasn't occupying.

"Scott is gonna try and dig through pale and sickly Evil Stiles' mind to unveil pale and sickly Real Stiles. And guide him back from the depths of his own subconscious," Peter's eyes fell on me, "But he's not gonna do it alone."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

"Somebody needs to go in with you." Everyone, including Stiles, looked to me.

"Me?"

"Well, you love him, don't you?" Peter asked me in a patronizing way. Glee shone across the nogitsune's eyes and it made me horribly uncomfortable.

"I - I - fine." I said simply, and sat on the couch next to Stiles. Peter took Scott and dragged him behind the both of us. From the corner of my eye, I could see him place Scott's claws on the back of Stiles' neck. A split second later, I felt claws ghosting the back of my neck.

"So what do we do when we find him?" Scott asked.

"You're gonna have to guide him out somehow. Try to give him back control of his mind and his body."

"Would you care to elaborate on the 'somehow?' No offense to your instruction giving, but the most important detail isn't feeling very specific at the moment."

I saw Peter shrug in my peripheral. "Improvise," He said, and I rolled my eyes.

"What if this is just another trick?" Scott asked.

"When are you people going to start trusting me?" Peter asked disbelievingly.

"He means the nogitsune, dumbass." I answered.

"Oh."

"Scott," Deaton warned, "We're running out of time."

"It seems we always are," I said. The last thing I felt before my world went black was a sharp sting on the back of my neck.

* * *

My eyes opened to an empty room. Or, empty aside from Scott and me. Staring around, I only saw the four white walls that people talk about when mentioning mental institutions. What worried me more was when I looked over to Scott, who was lying in an bed identical to mine, he was held down by a five point restraint system. What worried me most was that I was locked in a five point restraint system as well.

Scott and I made eye contact, and as soon as we did, we both immediately started struggling to escape our bonds. Making no progress, I looked over to Scott who was yelling in frustration. My eyebrows rose.

"Do I actually need to remind you that you're a werewolf?"

"We're in Stiles' head."

"Yeah and you're a supernatural creature with supernatural strength!"

"Yeah well so are you!"

"I don't have supernatural strength."

Scott rolled his eyes, "No - I mean - you're a witch."

"And?"

"Well - can't you break us out?"

"Hate to break it to you, but I don't have magic in Stiles' head. I never have."

Scott's eyes widened, "Never, as in you've been in his head before?"

I winced, "Yeah. I can sort of - enter his dreams."

"And you didn't want to tell us?"

"Not that this is the time or place, but we've been a bit busy with other things just in case you forgot! It's a newer development that Ginny and I are working on. Long story's short I don't have magic here, you're our best bet. So break. Free."

Scott turned back to his restraints and fought harder against them. In no time, he broke free from them, and headed over to me. He unclasped the shoulder strap and one of my hands before moving to my feet, allowing me to undo the other hand. He helped me stand up, and together we approached the door to the room.

"Just stay behind me, okay?" I nodded as he opened the door. Scott was in the hallway as I approached the doorway, when suddenly the door slammed shut. I quickly grabbed the door handle and jiggled it, only to be met with no movement. The door had locked, and Scott and I were now separated.

"Scott!" I yelled, pounding on the door. "Scott!"

I froze when I felt a shift around me, and I turned back around to see that I was no longer in the room holding the two beds. Instead I was in a hallway, where the only way out was forward. My knees started shaking as the walls started shaping themselves into a hallway I hoped to never have to see again.

I tread forward to the large oak doors at the end of the hallway, and gently pushed them open. Walking into the room, I was met with the Council room. There it stood, in all its haunting glory. Only this time, one person was seated above me. I didn't even know if I could call the mummy a person, but there he was.

"June Astor, make your way to the center of the room, please."

My mind was screaming at me to run, but I couldn't. My body was on autopilot, forcing one foot slowly in front of the other.

"I'm sure you know why you were brought here today," The mummy began, and I shrugged.

"I get the feeling you'll tell me soon," I said, my hands clammy.

"You were brought in front of the Council to be put on trial for the crimes you have committed."

"Committed? What - what do you mean?"

"Seeing as how the Council has found you guilty, this is merely a sentencing hearing."

"Sentencing, for what?"

The mummy leaned forward, "For taking the lives of your friends."

My eyes widened, and I let out a gasp of horror when I looked around. For surrounding me were the mangled corpses of my friends. First was Allison, with a gaping hole in the middle of her abdomen. Next was Scott, who was wolfed out had large claw marks in the middle of his chest. Next to him was a girl who I recognized as Malia Tate, only her hair was much shorter. She had multiple bullet holes in her, and her dead eyes reflected the fear she felt moments before her life ended. Finally, there was Stiles, who was on his back with his arms spread out, and had blood spattered on his face.

My breathing grew erratic, "But I didn't-"

"You did. You've already been found guilty. The coven can't just let this go, exile will not be the route to take."

"Then what is?" I asked helplessly, tears falling down my face.

The mummy faced his entire body towards my own. "Death. _Your_ death."

The next thing I knew, I saw myself in a bathrobe and issued clothing. I was unmoving and my hair was scraggly. My eyes were closed, and blood was pouring out of a hole that was in the side of my head.

Before I could scream out in terror, someone else beat me to it. Rather, two people. I heard Lydia and Peter's voices calling out my name, and I suddenly remembered what I was here for. Glancing around at all the dead bodies once more, I noticed Stiles was missing.

Stiles. I need to help Stiles.

I straightened up in time to see the nogitsune hop over onto the ground in front of me. Spinning on my heel, I sprinted out of the Council room, hopefully for the last time.

On the other side of the doors was not the streets of New York, but instead a white room. It went on endlessly, and I looked around to see if there were any other ways out. I didn't find an exit, but I did find Scott McCall, alive and well.

I ran over to him, "Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah, the nogitsune just got to me a bit," Scott replied.

"You and me both," I agreed, looking around. "So now we just need to find-" I paused when my eyes landed on a giant tree trunk in the middle of the room.

"Stiles."

Sitting on top of the nemeton was Stiles, and the same mummy who was in the Council room with me. They were both focused on some sort of board between the two of them.

Scott and I broke into a sprint trying to get to him. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that easy, as it seemed that no matter how much we moved the distance between us and Stiles never changed. Scott and I slowed to a stop.

"Stiles!" Scott yelled.

"Stiles!" I screamed, waving my hands over my head. "Stiles! Stiles, over here!"

We tried this and running multiple times over. The entire time we did so, Stiles never turned his head or gave a hint that he could see us. I eventually was growing tired, and stopped running to place my hands on my knees. That was when it hit me.

"Stiles is a part of your pack."

Scott looked over at me, "What? What do you mean?"

"It's like what Ginny was explaining to me. Witches have never been in a wolf pack before, but then again neither have kitsunes, or banshees, and neither have humans."

"So?"

"So Stiles is human, but he's still part of the pack, right?"

"Yeah," Scott said, straightening up, "Yeah of course."

I swatted his arm, "So how do wolves signal their location to the rest of the pack?" In the distance, I could see the mummy take his attention off of the game and turn his head towards the two of us. I glanced over to see Scott had completely wolfed out, and was glaring ahead.

"They howl," He answered before giving a tremendous howl. When I looked back to where Stiles was, I sighed in relief to see he was looking over at the two of us. He glared back at the nogitsune and swiped his hands across the board, knocking off the pieces, ending the game. The nogitsune let out one final yell, and we were all sent back into reality.

I felt the claws disconnect from my neck, and I collapsed to the ground. Lydia took me in her arms and stood me up, backing me away from all of the commotion. She grabbed a tissue and dotted at my nose, when I noticed that it was in fact bleeding. My ears were ringing and I looked around, shaking my head a few times to snap back to the situation at hand.

"Why didn't it work?" I asked, looking at Stiles' unmoving body.

"Because it's not science, June," Peter explained, "It's the supernatural."

I went forward to Stiles as Peter grabbed a hold of Lydia, saying something along the lines of "I did my part." I was still slightly delirious, and I couldn't focus my attention on more than one thing, so I didn't hear the rest. My hand reached up to Stiles' face, and as soon as I touched him, he lurched forward. The suddenness of his actions sent me stumbling backwards, into Scott's legs. Scott helped me up again and stood slightly in front of me.

He didn't shield my view from Stiles, however. I sort of wish he did, as Stiles started pulling out a seemingly never ending strand of fabric from his mouth. He was gargling and gagging as he collected the fabric into a pile on the floor. I wasn't going to lie, my gag reflexes were triggered slightly as the strand showed no end in sight.

When it finally did all come out, the pile of cloth started swirling with an eerie black smoke. A hand quickly rose up from the pile, and that hand was wrapped in cloth. I immediately grabbed onto Stiles' shirt and yanked him back, away from all the commotion.

The nogitsune fully emerged from the floor, and started glancing around. His face froze on all of us, and he lunged forward. Scott and Peter work, wrestling him down to the floor. When they struggled to hold him down, Deaton went over to go help. Melissa stepped forward to see all of the commotion.

The nogitsune was yelling remarkably loud, despite the cloth muffling the sound. My entire body stilled when I recognized the yelling. It was the same yelling I heard from Stiles in the dream I slipped into. I listened again, and could confirm the yelling to indeed be Stiles. I slowly turned around to see Stiles staring at me intently, and his gaze darkened.

He stepped towards me, "Too late, _majo_." The last thing I saw was his fist headed towards me before everything went black yet again.

{+}

The nogitsune easily caught June's now unconscious body, quickly and quietly laying her to the floor. Before Lydia could even react, the trickster grabbed her, and threw a hand over her mouth. He dragged her outside without so much as shutting the front door.

Meanwhile, inside the McCall household, Scott realized the nogitsune he was wrestling with wasn't in fact trying to attack him, but instead was trying to reach its own face.

"Wait, wait, wait!" He yelled, and gently lifted some of the cloth up off of its face. He grabbed more of the cloth, and yanked it over his head, revealing a pale and sickly Stiles Stilinski underneath the wrapping. Stiles looked bewildered and slightly afraid.

"Scott?" He asked disbelievingly. Scott's eyes were wide as he stared at his best friend.

"Scott," Deaton said from behind the two of them. Scott turned around, looking past Deaton to the open door. He glanced around to see June lying on the floor knocked out with a purple bruise blossoming on her jaw, as well as a small amount of blood trickling out of her nose and mouth.

Scott's eyebrows shot up when he realized Lydia and the other Stiles were not present company. "Where are they?" Deaton shrugged.

"Where are they?" He repeated loudly. Stiles' gaze locked on June's body as Scott ran outside.

"Lydia!" Everyone could hear Scott shouting, "Lydia! LYDIA!"


	30. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Stiles Apparently has Two Girlfriends**

 _Flashes of dark tunnels flooded my sight. Voices yelling, screaming in pain came in and out of focus._

 _"He is, you know," I heard in a sing-song voice from behind me, as I tried to find an exit from this god forsaken place._

 _"He's dying."_

I woke up with half of my face cold. Fluttering my eyes open, I realized that there was an ice pack on my face, no doubt nursing a nasty bruise. I sat up when I realized how exactly I got that bruise, and started looking around.

"Might wanna take it easy there," I heard a voice say. I turned around to see Scott leaning against the doorway of the living room, watching me intently. I swung my legs over the couch I was resting on, and started standing up when Scott came over to gently push me back onto the couch.

"Take it slow, June. You took a big punch."

"What happened?" I croaked, my voice not working properly yet. "Stiles - he-"

"Stiles is fine. He's upstairs with my mom, getting looked over."

"So that thing that - that materialized from the floor. That was Stiles right?" I put the ice pack back on my sore jaw.

"Yeah, the nogitsune spat him out pretty much." Scott gave me a small smile.

"Gross. Where are the others?" I asked him. Scott's eyes darted away from mine for a split second, and were on me again.

"Peter left as soon as he got what he wanted. Deaton went to go help Allison and Kira with the twins and Isaac. It turns out they were under some kind of influence of the nogitsune's."

"And Lydia?" Scott looked away from me again. Only this time, his eyes stayed glued to the floor.

"Scott," I pressed, "Where's Lydia?"

"Um," He began quietly, "When we figured out it was Stiles and not the nogitsune, we looked back to see you on the floor, and the front door open. Lydia and the other Stiles were gone, along with her car." My heart dropped to the floor.

"She's gone?"

Scott nodded slowly, "Yeah."

I threw down the ice pack and ran my hands over my face, "Jesus. Was it my fault?"

Scott looked back up at me, surprised, "No, June. How - why-?"

"If I hadn't pulled that Stiles back, thinking I was protecting him. If I'd've paid more attention to Lydia, or - or something-" Scott grabbed my hands.

"Hey, we all could have paid better attention. You really need to stop shouldering the blame for everything that goes wrong, June."

"It's a bad habit, I guess," I said softly. Before either of us could say anything else, there was a sharp knock at the door.

"That'll be Noshiko."

"Kira's mom?" I asked, "Why is she here?"

"Stiles told us to get her so we can see if the nogitsune is really gone. Will you get the door? I'll go grab Stiles." Scott pulled me up to my feet, and then made his way upstairs. I quietly opened the door to reveal Noshiko in a black coat.

"Come in, I suppose."

"Thank you," She said, and stepped inside.

"Is this - whatever you're going to do - is this going to kill him?" I asked hesitantly. Noshiko turned to me.

"That depends on if there is any reason to kill him or not," She answered far too vaguely for my taste. Before I could even ask what that meant, Scott came back into the living room supporting Stiles. Stiles glanced over at me briefly before wiggling out of Scott's grip and stepping closer to Kira's mother.

"Do you recognize me?" Noshiko asked, and Stiles said nothing, merely nodded. He stepped closer, and behind me I could hear a door slam shut.

"Stop!" An out of breath Kira exclaimed.

Stiles put his hands out in front of him, "It's okay. I'm the one who asked her to come."

"You're the one who's going to get stabbed with swords!" She argued, turning to her mother, "Mom, don't do this to him!"

"It's already done," Noshiko said vindictively. Quietly, shadows emerged in the dark living room, circling around Stiles. An Oni rushed forward, grabbing the back of his neck. Its eyes glowed bright yellow, staring deep into Stiles' eyes. Stiles looked like he was having trouble breathing and his eyes widened. Soon enough, he was dropped to the floor, and I rushed over to him. The Oni vanished back from where they came.

"Check the back of his ear," I heard Noshiko instruct. Peeling his ear back, I saw the same kanji that had faded from the back of my own ear.

"Self," I said aloud, then proceeded to help Stiles sit up. Oddly enough, he wasn't cold like I was, but he was trembling.

"It worked," Scott breathed.

"Am I actually me?" Stiles asked, looking at Noshiko.

"More you than the nogitsune," She assured him.

"Can the Oni find him?" He asked her angrily.

"Tomorrow night, it's too close to dawn now." I flinched as I saw Stiles almost snarl in frustration.

"Can they kill him?" I asked.

"It depends on how strong he is."

"What about Lydia, why would he take her?" Scott questioned.

"He'd only take her for an advantage."

"You mean her power?"

"The power of a banshee," I offered, and Noshiko nodded.

"Kira, come along. There are some things I still need to explain," Noshiko extended her hand, and walked Kira out the door of the McCall household. I helped Stiles stand up, and guided him over to the couch.

"Okay so if the Oni can't find him until tomorrow night, what are we supposed to do?" Stiles asked. "I mean we can't just - we can't sit here and just wait."

"There are more ways than Japanese demons to find somebody," I said, and everyone looked at me. When I was only met with confusion, I rolled my eyes. "Jesus, I've been around magic my whole life and still know how to function in the real world better than you guys. It's amazing, really."

"June, how do we find Lydia?"

"Same way you find any missing person," I said, locking eyes with Stiles, "You contact the police."

* * *

Holding Stiles' hand, I walked him into the doorway of his dad's office. "If I could just find my keys," we heard him mutter.

"In your coffee cup," Stiles said quietly, and the sheriff whirled around. "You always drop them in your empty cup." Stilinski glanced over at Scott and then his eyes found me, desperate. I nodded at him, telling him that this was in fact the real Stiles. Wasting no more time, the sheriff went over to Stiles, who slowly walked forward, and took him in his arms. While they reunited, Scott and I walked further into the office.

"Is it over?" I turned around to see Stilinski looking at me again. I shook my head. Scott grabbed Stilinski's keys from the mug.

"Not yet." Scott answered him.

"Not yet, what do you mean not yet?"

"When we got Stiles back, something happened."

"What?"

"Um, the nogitsune sort of split Stiles into two beings," I explained. "One of them is standing here, one hundred percent Stiles Stilinski. The other is a carbon copy of your son, except he is actually an evil fox spirit hundreds potentially thousands of years old." Sheriff Stilinski stared at me with his mouth hung open slightly.

I shook my head, "Believe it or not, that's not the most important part."

"What matters is that he took Lydia," Stiles finished for me. "We're not sure why, and we're not sure where either. But Lydia's missing."

"Okay, that sounds a little more my area of expertise," The sheriff muttered, walking out the door of his office. He came back in not minutes later. "We've got an APB out on Lydia's car. Every unit on the road is looking for her."

"Isn't there anything else that we could do?" Scott asked, and Stiles' dad glanced out the window to the rising sun.

"At this hour? No, not really."

"He took her for a reason, Dad," Stiles said from his spot atop the sheriff's desk. "Look if - if we can figure out the why, then we can figure out the where."

Briefly looking outside his office to make sure no on walked by, the sheriff agreed, "Okay. What would a nogitsune need with a banshee?"

"I don't know, Lydia's pretty good at finding dead bodies," his son spitballed, "Maybe he needs to find a body?"

"Scott, you know more about this than anybody," The sheriff reasoned.

"Me?" The werewolf asked surprisedly.

"Yeah, you said you heard the whole story from Noshiko," I explained.

"Yeah but that happened like seventy years ago during World War Two," He argued.

"Wait, what did you say?" Stiles asked.

"Noshiko told me about the internment camp-"

"No no, before that," Stiles interrupted. He looked up to me, "Before that you said the whole story."

"Yeah, I did. Glad to see you're paying attention," I told him. "What is it?"

"There's a girl, at Eichen House. Her name is Meredith, I think she might be able to help. She kept getting on the phone, saying 'they're gonna want to know the whole story.'" The sheriff turned around immediately and walked up to Deputy Parrish.

"Parrish, get Eichen House on the phone, ask about any patients named Meredith. Any Meredith that sticks out in their mind, any that have been trying to contact the outside for days, whatever you've got."

Five minutes later, Parrish slammed the phone down and looked back up at us. "Meredith Walker."

"Is she still there?"

"Yeah, but they moved her to the closed unit."

Stiles' eyes widened, "Why?"

"They said behavioral issues."

"What issues?" I pressed.

Parrish shrugged lightly, "She wouldn't stop screaming." My eyes widened, and I turned to the other boys in the room. We all shared the same look.

"Thanks, Parrish," The sheriff said, and his deputy returned to his desk.

"We need to talk to her," Stiles said.

"No we don't," I said, eying Stiles' figure. He froze and looked back at me.

"What the hell do you mean, no we don't?"

" _We_ don't have to do anything," I pointed between Scott, Stiles, and myself. "We wouldn't be allowed to see Meredith in the closed unit if we weren't family or the sheriff. At this point, all we can do is give your dad a list of questions that might be able to help."

"June, we can't just-" Stiles tried to argue.

"We can and we will!" I said firmly. "Stiles, look at yourself! You were literally just exorcised hours ago. When was the last time you got _any_ sleep?" Stiles looked down, and I nodded. "That's exactly what I thought. I don't know about you, but the last time I got any sleep was when I was knocked unconscious after being inside your head. It's exhausting work, we all need sleep. You more than most."

"June-"

"She's right, Stiles." The sheriff said. I looked at him gratefully. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't bring you along. You should get some sleep, I'll call if anything changes."

"But Dad, I can't-"

"I'm not going to argue with the witch over there, Stiles, and neither should you. I bet if she really wanted to, she could carry your ass out by herself." Stiles looked over at me, and I shrugged.

"I could lift you by your ankles again, if that helps."

"Oh, my god, no. I'm coming," Stiles muttered as he trudged out the sheriff's office. Scott followed behind, and I was about to close the door, when the sheriff called out to me. I turned back to see him shrugging on his coat.

"Thank you, for bringing him back to me. I don't care what you say, you saved him. I owe you one."

I gave him a large grin, "I guess I just needed to stop looking at what happened and get to work." He gave me one last smile, and I shut the door, following Scott and Stiles out to the blue jeep in the parking lot. We agreed to go back to Scott's house, and Stiles drove there. I marched up to the front door and opened it without any inclination from Scott to do so. I held the door open, and turned around. Scott and Stiles were still at the curb by the jeep.

"Well?" I said, pointing inside, "Get in here." When no one moved, I put on my mom voice. " _Now!_ " Stiles and Scott jumped and scurried inside. When they brushed past me, I could have sworn I heard Scott say to Stiles, "Your girlfriend sure is bossy." It only was met with a harsh punch from Stiles.

Stiles and Scott made their way to the living room and just stared around awkwardly. I shut the front door and rolled my eyes, making my way to the kitchen. I got out a glass of water, and filled it with some ice and water. Bringing it back, I gave it to Stiles. Hesitantly, he took it, downing the whole thing. I smiled at him as he handed me back the glass.

"What was that for?"

"I don't know when the last time you had water was. Plus, it helps you to sleep." I told him. I handed the glass to Scott, then held out my had to Stiles.

"Keys," I told him. He looked at me for a solid ten seconds, "Lydia was my ride before she was - before she went missing. I need to change clothes like now. I promise I won't scratch your jeep." He handed me the keys, and I gently grasped his shoulders, guiding him backwards. His knees came into contact with the back of the couch, and he sank down into the couch.

I grinned, "Good, see that wasn't so hard! Lie down, get some sleep." I bent down and kissed Stiles' cheek. Before standing up straight, I whispered in his ear, "I'm glad you're safe."

I took Scott by the hand and walked to the front door. "I'll be back in a few hours, please just - um - just-"

"I'll keep an eye on him, June." We both looked back over to see Stiles lying down on the couch, already breathing deeply. I looked back to Scott, who was already looking at me.

"Go get some new clothes." I nodded slowly at him. Then, I threw my arms around Scott's neck.

"I'm happy you're safe," I muttered in the crook of his neck, "You make a damn good alpha, you know."

I heard him laugh lightly, "I don't even know what I'm doing most of the time."

I let him go and faced him, "Yeah, but the best leaders never really do. They learn what's right first, then they lead." I turned on my heal and walked out the door, down the path to Stiles' jeep. Hopping in and turning the ignition, I sped down the few blocks to my house.

The first thing I did was change clothes. I stripped of my dress and sweater, opting for more comfortable. I smiled to myself at how Lydia just yesterday was saying how I should always choose style over comfort. My smile fell when I remembered that she missing. I found a grey tee shirt that only had a full moon on it. Not one to miss an opportunity to be humorous despite the severity of the situation, I threw it on. Putting on jeans and boots, I tied a flannel around my waist and threw my hair in a bun.

I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen. Ginny was out (at whatever job she worked in the day no doubt), leaving me to cook for myself. I pulled some chicken out of the freezer along with some pasta and alfredo sauce. I figured I should eat a solid meal, not sure when I would be able to next.

Setting the hot meal down on the table, I wasted no time in digging in. Within a matter of minutes, the rather large portion of food was downed and the plate was cleaned. I rinsed the plate off and set it in the sink. I made sure that all of the stovetops I cooked on were off, and I headed back upstairs to my room.

I noticed a blank notebook sitting on top of my desk. I remember Ginny putting it there, saying if I had any dreams that didn't feel like my own, to write them down immediately. I thought back to the brief flashes I had before waking up at Scott's house. I remember someone who sounded eerily similar to Stiles saying that Stiles was dying. I sat down at my desk, and jotted down all I could remember. When I was done, it took up about half a page in the notebook.

I sighed, bored out of my mind. I hated feeling like I was doing nothing, like I could have been doing more. I plugged in my phone into the charger on the nightstand, and sat down on my bed. Laying down, I gazed up at the ceiling until my eyes fluttered shut. Soon after, I was lulled into a dreamless sleep.

I was woken up by the loud vibrating of my phone against the nightstand. My eyes snapped open, and I was quick to answer my phone.

"Hello?"

"June, we need you to bring the jeep around," Scott said, "Meredith escaped Eichen."

* * *

We rushed down the halls of the school to find Coach talking to Kira.

"Coach!" Scott called out, "Meredith, is she-?"

"McCall, what are you doing with an escapee of a nut house? You know what, don't answer that. Like everything else in your life, I really don't want to know."

"Coach, where's Meredith?" I repeated.

"She's in the music room. Brunski's headed there now," Coach Finstock said bitterly. I scrunched my eyebrows.

"Who's Bruns-"

"We can't let him get to her," Stiles said over me. "Coach, we need to talk to her, _now._ "

"Eh, anything I can do to stop that jerk off is fine with me," My eyes widened at his eagerness, and he lead us down the hall. We got to the music room where an orderly, I'm guessing Brunski, held a taser up, ready to attack Meredith. Meredith had her back turned, as she plucked the strings of the piano.

Coach Finstock grabbed the taser in his hand, "This school has a very strict no bullying policy," and proceeded to taser Brunski. Eyes wide in shock and slight awe, I moved over to Meredith.

"Get her outta here!" Coach said, and I gently grabbed Meredith's hand, guiding her out of harm's way. Behind me, I could hear another surge of electricity, and a cry of pain. Wincing slightly, I walked faster to the exit.

When we got out to the jeep, I hopped in the backseat, then helped Meredith climb in behind me. Scott and Stiles occupied the front seat, and Kira shut the door behind Scott. She said she would call him later, then ran off. Scott and Stiles turned to Meredith.

"Okay, where's Lydia?" Stiles asked.

Meredith shook her head, "Who's Lydia?"

There was a beat of silence before anyone said anything. Scott and Stiles stared at each other in that weird best friend way. I rolled my eyes.

"Look, can we figure this out away from all the people looking for her?" I asked, glancing back at the government issued van. No doubt it was what the Eichen employees came in. Stiles nodded and Scott volunteered his house, saying something about Isaac meeting us there.

Everyone was quick to move as we got back to Scott's house. I hopped out the back seat, and helped Meredith climb down before walking into the house with Stiles. When we got inside, Isaac was already there, as well as Scott's father. Inconvenient, as always.

"What are you doing here?" Scott asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," He said quietly. It was the first time that I didn't feel like he was really out to get any of us, and his face was slightly resigned looking.

"Free period," Stiles cut in. "We're doing a group study."

My eyes were going to get stuck at how often I rolled them. McCall inclined his head to Meredith.

"Who's she?"

Stiles wrapped a shaky arm around her shoulders, "She's my girlfriend." I sighed and shook my head at him.

McCall smirked, "I thought June over here was your girlfriend."

"Okay," I rounded to the two boys behind me, "That's the second McCall to say that today, am I missing something here?" Stiles scratched his temple and Scott averted my gaze.

Meredith interrupted us all, "You're not my type." Stiles' eyebrows went up.

"Well obviously, we have a lot to talk about," Stiles explained, "We should maybe take this upstairs?"

Meredith was smiling over at Isaac, "He's my type." Isaac looked to be at a loss for words, but also slightly flattered.

Stiles' eye twitched, "Okay, Isaac can come too."

We all walked back to the staircase, and I watched as Meredith and Isaac ascended to Scott's room. I brushed shoulders with Stiles on the way upstairs, and made eye contact with him. I gave him a sarcastic smile.

"What?" He defended.

I shook my head, "Nothing," I began, "It's just that you really need to think of better excuses."

"What - that excuse was fine!"

"Stiles, that excuse might as well have been made of glass. Everyone could see through it." I pat him on the shoulder, "We'll work on it."

Getting into Scott's room, Meredith was perched on his bed. We all expectantly hovered around Meredith, waiting for something to happen.

"Lydia," she finally said, "You mean the red haired girl."

My eyes widened, and I leaned closer to her, "Yes, yes! Good, progress, now all you gotta do is tell us where she is!"

"Okay," Meredith said, "If she tells me."

"Wh - If she tells you?" Isaac asked. "Uh, can you ask her?"

Meredith smiled, "I already did!"

"Perfect!" Stiles said. "Perfect, what did she say?"

"She said she doesn't wanna be found."

"That's good too," Stiles said, fidgeting with his hands.

"Well I don't think she's lying," I said.

"What you think she's telling the truth?" Stiles argued, "That Lydia really doesn't want to be found?"

"Not necessarily," I said, "I mean if I were in a situation that was dire, and I knew my friends were coming for me, then hell yeah I'd want them to come for me. But if them coming resulted in my friends dying, then I'd rather be the one in that circumstance than my friends."

"So what, you're saying if someone goes to rescue Lydia, they'll die?" Isaac asked.

"No, but isn't that technically what banshees do? Predict death? Lydia would be more sure of it than I would be."

"Okay well there are other ways we can get it out of Meredith," Isaac said. I looked at him oddly.

"And what do you propose?" My mouth opened slightly when he whipped out his claws. I quickly took him by the hand and walked him closer to Scott's en suite bathroom.

"No." I told him.

"But why not? We could just-

"No, we are not going to _torture_ her," Stiles said.

"I didn't mean that, I meant we could scare her-"

"We're not going to psychologically torture her either!" I argued back quietly.

"Fine," Isaac said, resigned. "Okay how about this, you said she hears things, right? Doesn't that mean she's like Lydia? A banshee?"

We all looked over to Meredith, who was twitching quite a bit. Like someone was constantly yelling in her ears. We all walked over and crouched in front of her.

"Okay," Stiles started, "Just try to focus on the sounds around you. On what you're hearing." Meredith was nodding, listening to us intently. "Just focus on the silence."

"Listen to the silence," Isaac said.

"Focusing on the silence," Stiles said once more.

"Listening to the sil - ow!" Isaac said. He rubbed his arm from where I punched it.

"Would you just let me handle this, Isaac? Please. I just - I have more experience with banshees."

Isaac sighed, "Yeah, and mental patients."

Before Stiles could retort, Meredith spoke out. "Isn't anyone gonna get that," she asked, and we all looked at her again.

"Get what?" I asked.

"The phone."

"What phone?" Stiles said. Isaac and I both started tapping his arms as Meredith held out her hand.

"The phone, Stiles," Isaac said. Stiles looked around to see that everyone was waiting on him.

"Oh the - the phone! My phone, yes," He brought up the phone to his ear, "H-hello? Yes, yeah she's here, actually. She is sitting right here." He then held it out to Meredith, "It's for - it's for you."

She happily took the phone, and held it to her ear. Not saying anything, she handed it back to Stiles, who pocketed it.

"They say, _coup de foudre_ ," Meredith said.

" _Coup - coup de foudre_? Is that - what is that Spanish?" Stiles asked. I rolled my eyes, about to correct him, but from behind us, Scott beat me to it.

"French. It's French."

* * *

"Allison?"

" _Hey, what's going on?_ "

"We know where the nogitsune has Lydia!"

" _Where?_ "

"The uh - the internment camp. Oak Creek. Do you know where it is?"

" _I know exactly where it is,_ " Allison replied, and I could hear rustling on the other end.

"Great, and bring your bow. We're all in for a fight," I hung up the phone from the backseat. Night had fallen, and we had just dropped Meredith back off at Eichen House. I was sitting next to Isaac in Stiles' jeep, with Scott and Stiles up front. It was a tense silence that filled the car, and I could tell no one wanted to bring it up.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked Scott.

"Me? Yeah, I'm okay. You don't have to worry about me."

I should have been clearer: No one wanted to say anything except Isaac.

"Alright I'm gonna say it, you look like you're dying." I scowled at him but he just kept going. "You're pale, and you're thin, and you look like you're getting worse."

"Oh my god I'm going to legally change you're name to Isaac Never Helps Anyone Lahey," I muttered.

"Well, we're all sitting here thinking it. When we find the other you, is he gonna look like he's getting better?" Isaac asked.

"What happens if _he_ gets hurt?" Scott asked Stiles.

"What do you mean like if he dies, do I die?" Stiles asked. When no one said anything, he took it as confirmation. "I don't care. Just so long as no one else dies because of me."

I sighed, and Scott looked away from him as Stiles continued, "I remember everything I did, Scott. I remember pushing that sword into you, I remember twisting it. I remember slamming June into that cabinet and I remember shoving her face into freaking glass shards," I flinched.

"But that wasn't you," I tried to remind him.

"Yeah, but I remember it. You guys've gotta promise me: you can't let anyone else get hurt because of me."

Scott gave a quick nod to Stiles, and we sat in silence once again.

* * *

We all met outside the gates of Oak Creek. Allison was with Kira, bow and katana in hand. We all circled up.

"We've done this before, guys," Scott started, "A couple weeks ago we were standing just like this, and we saved Malia. Remember?" We all nodded. "That was a total stranger. This is Lydia." He let the gravity of the situation settle.

"I'm here to save my best friend," Allison reminded us.

"I came to save mine," Scott said, glancing over at Stiles.

"I just didn't feel like doing any homework," Isaac said, trying to make light of the situation. Together, we all walked into the camp. Scott, Stiles, and I veered off from the rest of the group, and walked inside the building. We ran down several long hallways, and Stiles was slowly faltering behind us. We stopped so Scott could pick up anything on Lydia.

Sniffing around, he looked back at us, "She's here," he assured. Together, we started running once more. We eventually started running down tunnels, and I had to slow down.

"June? What's wrong, what is it?" I looked back at Stiles.

"Right before I woke up from that punch I - I had a dream about this place." I looked at Scott. "It wasn't just any dream."

"What like your new power?" Scott asked me and I nodded.

"I'm sorry, new power?" Stiles interrupted. I looked over at him, "What - when did this happen?"

"It's a long story, but it turns out the whole time you've been dreaming about me, I've actually been there. Being in Scott's pack has turned the dial up on my abilities to an eleven, and I can actually enter your guys' dreams. Or your minds. I think I was seeing what Lydia was seeing. She was definitely here."

"What else can you-" I grabbed onto Stiles' hand.

"While I would love to answer you, Lydia needs us more," Stiles nodded, and together we ran off once again.

"Right, take the next right," I said to Scott, and we reached a set of stairs. At the bottom was a gate, but inside I could make out Lydia's shoes.

"Lydia?" I called out.

"Lydia, are you alright?" Scott asked.

"No," She said desperately, "No no no, wait - why are you here?"

"Lydia, we're here for you!" Stiles answered.

"You weren't supposed to be here!" She said, eyes wide. "You didn't get my message?"

I leaned in closer to her, "Lydia what's happening?"

"Who else is here," she whispered, "Who came with you, who else is here?!"

"Allison, Isaac, and Kira. Look, Lydia, we're here to get you out!" I said.

"No, no we need to get them," Lydia said. "We need to go get everyone, and leave. NOW!" We all scrambled back, and made our way up to the surface. Scott and I had the lead, with Lydia right behind me and Stiles bringing up the rear. I was so focused on getting outside I almost didn't hear Stiles call out my name.

"June, June - Lydia I - I can't." I turned around to see Stiles collapsed to the floor. Lydia had stopped to take care of him. His eyelids were drooping, and I was panicking slightly. I turned around to see Scott still running.

"Okay, Lydia, I can't just leave Scott alone. I have to go help him."

"But what about-?"

"Just stay here with him, alright? You and him can't fight whatever's out there, and I might be able to help. Stay hidden, and make sure he stays safe." That being said, I swiftly spun on my heel and sprinted down the tunnel. I knew I was getting closer by the hallways growing larger and the sounds of fighting growing nearer. I burst outside and just as I did, I heard a gut wrenching scream echo from behind me.

Right as I rounded the corner, I saw Allison lying in Scott's arms, bleeding from a hole in her chest.


	31. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: Win the Game**

"Lydia. Lydia, listen to me - I - _Lydia!_ " I shook her shoulders and her gaze snapped to me. Her eyes searched mine for any trace of a lie, any hope that what just happened didn't.

"Is she - she's not-" I nodded slowly, and the tears started pouring out of her eyes again.

"Lydia, listen to me. You have to focus on my voice, alright?" I asked her and she looked up at me again. "Good. Noshiko said that Stiles can rest up at her house, and in order for this to work, I need to take him out of here. It needs to be just the four of you out here."

"Four of us?"

"You, Scott, Isaac, and-" I cast my eyes down, but I knew Lydia got the memo. I glanced down at the blood that was on my hands from when I had to get Scott away from - from Allison. I also noticed that despite how evenly I was speaking to Lydia, I couldn't seem to stop trembling.

"Mr. Argent is waiting for us, I need you to help me carry him up," I gestured to the unconscious boy next to us. Lydia looked at me again, and nodded fractionally.

"How are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" I asked, confused.

"How are you so calm?"

I let out a few breaths before answering in a more shaky tone that fit the situation, "I'm not. Not really. I'm on the verge of a panic attack, and I just need to know that everyone - well, everyone else - is safe. So I just - I just need us to move." I hoisted an arm over my shoulder, and saw Lydia do the same thing. Together through the narrow tunnels, we carried Stiles up to the surface, and up to reality.

I couldn't stomach looking back into the area where I left her, so instead I worked on moving Stiles out the gates of Oak Creek and over to his jeep. I made sure he was semi-leaning on the jeep before I put most of his weight on Lydia. I dug through his pockets and fished out his keys, before turning to unlock the passenger door.

When I finally pried it open, I went back to Stiles' other side, and helped lift him into the jeep. I buckled his seatbelt and shut the door behind me. I turned back to Lydia, who was hugging herself as a means to shield from the midnight cold.

"So are you going to follow Kira and Noshiko?"

"No - uh - they already left. Kira sent me the address, so I'm just going to plug it in to my phone."

She nodded, it was almost awkward between us. "Right, and she - is she-"

"Yeah. She's through those gates. You should um - you should get over there soon. Mr. Argent will want to explain to you the story you have to give to the police."

Lydia gazed down at her shoes, lip trembling, "June - I - I don't want to go through those gates."

I pulled her in for a hug, and her body was soon wracked with sobs. I inhaled deeply and looked upward to keep tears from falling. I owed it to her to keep my composure. I rocked her back and forth for about ten minutes before holding her at arm's length.

"You owe it to yourself to see her," I began, and her hands began to shake even more. I tucked hair behind her ear and wiped her eyes. "Hey, look at me. It's not what you think okay? It's almost - almost like she's sleeping. She's at peace."

She mustered as much of a smile as she could, and sighed. She started turning around when I stopped her once more.

"Call me when you're out of the station okay? If you want, I'll be there," Her eyes shone with gratitude, and she slipped back inside the gates of the internment camp. I quietly walked around the jeep and opened the door. Sliding in, I wasted no time in driving away from there. If I imagined hard enough, I could almost pretend that I was driving away from a place that never existed, a place that was only real in a nightmare.

I drove in utter silence for about ten minutes. No sounds, no thoughts, nothing. Stiles was the one to break the silence when he woke up. Blearily, he gazed around the jeep and saw me driving.

"Why are you driving?" He asked me.

I shifted gears, "You were a little preoccupied with the whole unconscious thing to drive, so here we are."

"Here we are," He repeated, then gazed around. "Where's Scott and Isaac? Matter of fact, where is everyone? What happened?"

I didn't want to answer. I didn't want to say it, to accept any of what just happened. I kept my gaze focused on the road.

"June," He asked me, and still no answer. "June!"

I flinched harshly in my seat. My breathing picked up and tears dotted my eyes. The air inside the jeep was rapidly becoming stuffy and unbearable.

"June," He said loudly, " _What happened?_ "

"I can't," I whispered.

"You can't? Can't what?"

"I can't - I can't breathe," I said louder. I looked over to Stiles to see that his eyes were wide. "I can't breathe, I need - I need to pull over."

I swerved the jeep to the side of the road, which thankfully was vacant aside from us. I cut the engine and hopped out, ignoring the protests of Stiles. When I looked back, I could see he was tiredly fiddling with the seatbelt. I ran a fair distance away from the jeep and began to breathe deeply.

My efforts to calm down proved to be futile, as I emptied the contents of my stomach onto the roadside. I kept vomiting until my stomach had nothing else but acid to throw up. When I was finished, I wiped my mouth and tried stumbling back to the jeep. I didn't make it very far before collapsing to my knees and bursting into tears.

I don't know if I sat there for thirty seconds or thirty minutes before I felt arms around me, shushing me and trying to calm me down. I could hardly inhale before relapsing into more sobs, and I was sure drool was mixed in to the tears falling from my eyes. I could hardly hear Stiles trying to comfort me over the blood rushing in my ears, or my own cries of despair. All the while I was furiously wiping my hands on the concrete, trying to rid them of Allison's blood.

When my tears managed to subside enough to hear Stiles, my hands were rubbed raw, and there were parts of my palms that were bleeding from the harsh scrapes against the road. I folded into Stiles' arms and let him hold me until I was reduced to hiccups. Stiles made sure it was completely silent before talking to me.

"June, you need to tell me what happened."

"You - you passed out. I t-told Lydia to s-stay with you w-while I helped Scott and the - the others," I began. I closed my eyes when Stiles started stroking my hair.

"Then what happened?"

"I got t-to where the fighting w-was h-happening, but I was t-too late."

"Too late? What do you mean?"

"I m-mean by the time I g-got there, Al-Allison had been s-stabbed by an O-Oni." I could feel Stiles' sharp intake of breath. I burst into tears once again, "I couldn't - I couldn't do anything. It was too quick, I just - I just watched it happen. She's gone. Allison's dead."

* * *

Stiles drove all the way to my house. He made sure that I changed my clothes and washed up, saying I didn't need to be wearing blood-stained clothes around. I told him I'd meet him in ten minutes at his house, and he left. I let my hair down from my bun and took off all of my clothes. Instead of throwing them in the laundry basket, I threw them in the trash. I would never wear any of those clothes again after tonight.

I washed my hands and face before heading back to the closet to throw on jeans and a white tee shirt. I laced up my white converse before grabbing a flannel and heading out the door. I walked across the street to the blue jeep. Stiles was already walking outside and nodded at me.

"Nice flannel," I looked down to see that my red flannel almost matched his. Had I not been so drained, I would have smirked at him.

"You too," We didn't say anything else until we got to Kira's house. We were all brought into the living room as we settled in. Kira sat beside me, while Noshiko was currently us each a drink, and Stiles and I were fidgeting on the sofa.

"Here," She said, handing us each a mug, "It'll calm you."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Tea," She replied.

"What, like magic tea?" I nudged Stiles softly at his comment.

"No, chamomile tea. Drink it," Noshiko answered, unamused.

Mr. Yukimura walked into the room, "He's not safe here."

"He's not safe anywhere," his wife argued.

"But Allison killed one of them," Kira said. "Doesn't that mean something? She killed an Oni."

"Is that even possible?"

"I'm not sure how," Noshiko answered her husband.

"But she did it. She killed one of them," Kira mentioned.

"Yeah and then they killed her," Stiles said. I was too numb to even react. "Allison's dead. And now I guess the only good thing is it looks like I'm dying too." I reached for his hand, and he flinched away from me.

Noshiko sat closer to Stiles, "He made a powerful move by splitting the two of you."

Kira put a piece on the board game in front of us, "So what's our move?"

"At this point," Her father answered tiredly, "You need a divine move."

"What's that?" I asked.

"In the game of _Go_ , it's what we call a truly inspired or out-of-the-box move. The nogitsune has had _sente_ , the advantage, until this point. What you need is a divine move in order to turn the game around."

"Okay so is anyone feeling divinely inspired?" Stiles asked us.

"Mom, you said you trapped it in a glass jar, right?"

"It wasn't the jar that trapped it," Noshiko explained, "It was where I buried it."

"The nemeton," Stiles said.

"A place I don't know too much about," Noshiko agreed.

"Who does?"

"Deaton," Stiles said, "Deaton does."

I looked to Kira, "Call Scott and tell him to head over to Deaton's. Explain what we think can help."

Noshiko let Stiles and I crash on her couch for the meantime. I wasn't quick to fall asleep, but once I finally did, it was dreamless. I woke up what felt like days later, when it had only been about two hours. Stiles was the one to shake me awake, telling me that we had to head over to Deaton's. I glanced around and when I realized my surroundings, everything else came crashing down on me. I nodded slowly at Stiles, then noticed he was being supported by Kira.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't really explain it, but I think whatever's happening is happening now," Stiles explained.

"Like how Isaac said you looked like you were dying, and only getting worse," I said, and he nodded. I took an arm and threw it around my shoulder, and together, Kira and I walked Stiles out to the jeep. Kira hopped in the backseat and Stiles sat in the passenger's side. He tried to argue but I told him if he couldn't walk on his own, he definitely couldn't drive.

I drove down to the animal clinic. When Kira and I got Stiles successfully out of the car without anybody falling down, we headed inside. I could hear Lydia saying that she felt like we were running out of time.

"Yeah," Stiles agreed as we walked into the office, "Yeah I kinda go that feeling too."

"What did you find out?" I asked.

"There's a box made out of wood from the nemeton. It was used to hold Talia Hale's claws but we think it can be used to hold the nogitsune," Scott answered.

"Okay where is it?"

"At Derek's loft," Lydia said. "We already texted Derek."

"He said he was gonna try and get it to us, but he had to take care of the twins first," Scott said.

"Okay so what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Kira questioned.

Scott looked over at her, determination in his eyes once again, "Now, we make a plan."

* * *

We pulled up to the school, Scott driving, Lydia in the passenger's seat, and Kira, Stiles, and I in the back. All the while, Stiles kept complaining about how he was shoved to the back of his own jeep. I held his hand the entire way there, stroking his knuckles with my thumb. It was a small bit of peace I held onto before anything else in my life could go to shit.

We all hopped out when the car came to a stop, and Stiles immediately leaned against a railing. I was quick to follow him out, and both Lydia and myself grabbed a hold of him, leaning his weight against us. All of us hobbled to the front entrance about to head in, Scott at the helm.

"Scott, hold on," Stiles said, and Scott turned around. "I know what you're all thinking: that if this works it might kill me too. But even if it does, you just - you have to go through with it. Stick with the plan."

Scott didn't hesitate to reply, "The plan is to save you. That's the plan I'm going with." Without further ado, he opened up the doors to the school. Only what we walked into was not actually the school. It was something I never thought I'd see after I moved to California.

It was snowing.

We advanced into the enclosed area, which under all the white resembled that of a Japanese garden. A small bridge over what might have been a koi pond, beautiful trees, statues. It would have been very pleasant, had it not been such terrifying circumstances. The doors behind us which were now gates, slammed shut. Stiles separated himself from Lydia and I, and stepped forward.

"Well this is definitely not part of the plan," He muttered.

We didn't get much time to really contemplate our surroundings when we all heard movement behind us. Turning around, we could see the nogitsune in all his mummified glory walk out from behind a pillar. He turned to face us, and we did the same.

"Like I promised, Stiles," It said, "We're going to kill all of them. One by one!" The Oni quickly appeared, and launched into an offensive mode. Kira was quick to dodge with her sword, and we all quickly became aware that we were surrounded by Oni.

"What the hell is this, where are we?" Scott asked.

"Between life and death." The nogitsune answered.

"Bardo," Lydia muttered.

"But there are no peaceful deities here, Lydia. You're dying, Stiles. And now everyone you care about is dying too!"

"What? What do you mean?" Stiles asked the slowly approaching mummy.

"I've captured almost all the territories on the board, Stiles. The hospital, the _sheriff's station_ , and now the animal clinic," He clenched his fist in midair in a triumphant manner. "Do you know of the ritual _seppuku_ , Stiles?"

"No, and I don't want to."

"When a samurai disembowels himself with his own sword to maintain his honor, but that's not the cut that kills him," The nogitsune whispered the last part. I felt queasy at how much he seemed to be enjoying this. "The killing stroke is made by his _kaishakunin_ , who beheads the samurai with his own katana."

He pointed to Scott, "Scott... Scott is your _kaishakunin_. I'm going to make your best friend kill you, Stiles. And you're going to let him," The nogitsune was now face-to-face with Stiles. "Because just like you, they're all going to die. Everyone touched by an Oni's blade. Unless Scott kills you first."

"Why?" Stiles said, voice shaking. "Why are you doing this?"

"To win the game," He said slowly, and goosebumps danced along my arms. The Oni were quick to close in, and we were ready. Scott had already transformed, and was quick to attack. He and Kira launched into battle, while I made sure to get Stiles and Lydia out of the way. Shielding us, I moved the two of them behind the small bridge, and stood out in front of them. I tensed when I saw Scott and Kira back to back.

"This can't be real," I heard Lydia say behind me.

"Yeah, tell that to them," Stiles argued.

Kira was quickly coming at us, easily overpowered by the two Oni advancing. She put up a good fight, but eventually lost her sword. I was quick to throw up a precautionary shield in case the Oni tried anything. It turns out, it was useless. The Oni weren't going to try anything to hurt Stiles. Stiles was.

From the corner of my eye, I saw something that froze me to my very core. Stiles had somehow escaped Lydia's grasp, and was now clutching Kira's sword, ready to impale himself on it. Forgetting about my magic entirely, I spun to face him.

"Stiles..." I said slowly.

"Stiles, no!" Scott roared while struggling with an Oni. He quickly fought him off, heading to Stiles. "Stiles-"

"What if it saves you? What if it saves all of you?" Stiles asked, his eyes darting around all of us.

"What if it's just another trick?" I asked him desperately.

"No more tricks, _majo_ ," The nogitsune said. "End it, Scott. Let your friend fall on his own sword. Do for him what he cannot do for himself. Do it, Scott. Be his _kaishakunin._ Give up the game."

Stiles readjusted his grip on the sword. He looked about ready to slice himself open, when his wide eyes gazed on the reflection of the sword. He tilted it slightly, adjusting it so he could see something. His stare landed on something behind him, and when I followed his line of sight I saw it too: a school textbook, with a desk behind it.

"You have no moves left."

As a gift from whatever higher being out there, Stiles removed the sword from its position at his stomach, and held it out in his arms. "I do," he whispered, then threw the katana to Kira.

"A divine move." My eyes widened. I ran over to Stiles when I saw him stumble. He grabbed onto my waist, and called out.

"Stop fighting them. It's an illusion. You have to stop fighting them! It looks real, it feels real, but Scott you gotta trust me, it's an illusion." Scott turned around to face the Oni and the nogitsune. He and Kira advanced slowly towards him, and ignored the swords slashing them to pieces. Stiles, Lydia, and I followed behind.

"This is looking pretty real, Stilinski," I muttered, and his grip on me tightened.

"I swear, it's not. Just keep going." Slowly but surely, we made our way up to the nogitsune. With a yell, Scott tackled him out the doors. When we were on the other side of them, the nogitsune was gone, and we were back in the school.

"We're okay," Scott said disbelievingly, "We're-" He couldn't finish that sentence before he was knocked to the ground. The real nogitsune, the one who looked identical to the boy in my arms, stood before us. Kira was quick to go next, as she was sent to the floor.

"This was my game," The trickster said lividly, "You think you can beat me at my game?"

I grabbed Stiles and Lydia and started moving them backwards as the nogitsune advanced towards us at a rapid pace.

"Divine move? Divine move? You think you have any moves at all? You can kill the Oni, but me? _Me?_ I'M A THOUSAND YEARS OLD, YOU CAN'T KILL ME!"

"But we can change you!" I yelled back, and the fox hesitated, eyes narrowed.

"You forgot about the scroll," Stiles said.

"The Shugendo scroll," Lydia clarified.

"Change the host," the nogitsune muttered.

"You can't be a fox and a wolf." Behind the nogitsune, Scott yanked his arm out and sunk his teeth into him. He yelled out in agonizing pain before Kira came up and stabbed the trickster with her katana. He fell to his knees, jerking around before a small firefly escaped from his mouth. It buzzed past us down the hall. Freedom was just at its grasp until it flew right into the triskele box held by Isaac, who then screwed the lid on tight.

The body created by the nogitsune shriveled up before collapsing to the floor, turning to dust. It grew quiet after a moment. I thought at that point everything was going to end, but that moment was short lived. Soon after the void Stiles disappeared, the real Stiles collapsed to the floor. We all huddled around him, and after a few minutes, he stirred.

His red-rimmed eyes fluttered open, and he gazed around at all of us. "Oh god, I fainted didn't I?"

I squeezed the hand I was holding onto, "You ever try to kill yourself again, Stilinski I swear, I'll-"

"You'll what," Stiles replied teasingly, squeezing my hand right back, "You'll kill me?"

We all let out a breath of laughter, and stayed in that moment. We all sat there until Lydia stilled, looking down the hall. She stood up quickly, and ran outside the school. I was quick to follow behind her, and when I got outside, I could see what was wrong.

Under the overpass, Derek and Ethan were laying down a deceased Aiden. An Oni's sword was at his feet, and I could hear Ethan's cries from all the way over where I was standing. Lydia turned to run back inside, but crashed into my arms. I squeezed her tight as she began sobbing into my shoulder. All the while she just kept muttering, _not again, not again._

* * *

I got home that evening and walked right up to Ginny. She was in the kitchen cooking breakfast, and when she saw me, her arms were spread open wide. I tucked myself into her embrace, and sank to the kitchen floor in a puddle of tears. I was still beside myself with grief, and pain, and overall relief that what happened was now over.

I mourned. I knew that whatever Beacon Hills I moved to was not the same Beacon Hills I was in now. I mourned the fact that things would be different now, and I couldn't change anything about the past. I kept what the sheriff told me in mind. Our past is gone, what matters now is what we do moving forward. I decided that moving forward was the best option for me, but that didn't mean I wouldn't hold onto some of my past. The past where Allison was in my life.

Lydia and I grew closer than ever before. After Allison's funeral, we escaped up to Portland, and toured around. We were there for a week, and we really just took the time to be grateful that we were in each other's company, and grieved that Allison wasn't with us to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Ginny and I grew closer as well, even though I didn't think that was possible. We set up new rules and upheld old ones. We agreed that as soon as we walked through the doors of our house, there wouldn't be a single secret between us. Anything supernatural that required my attention did not need to be behind her back, as she was cool with me helping. So long as I kept my grades up, which would not be a problem, I could continue to help my friends and the town of Beacon Hills.

Scott, Stiles, and I spent the next several months helping Malia work on controlling her power. She was a quick learner, she just had several difficulties regarding the full moon. I spent a majority of my time tutoring her in things like math and science. She struggled, but I grew to greatly admire her tenacity with it all.

Stiles and I well, we were struggling too. We were both hit with such grief and loss, that anything between us was put on the back burner. I was glad he was okay, and that he could recover. It wasn't until a beautiful day in February did anything really pick back up in our lives again.

Answering the knock on my door, I was surprised to see Stiles standing on the other side. "Stiles? What are you doing here, is everything okay?"

He scratched his temple, "Yeah - no, everything's fine. I just - wanted to drop by and talk about some school work."

I raised an eyebrow, smirking at him, "On a Saturday?"

Stiles froze, then sighed, "Okay, no. I actually - I didn't know when would be a good time, since there was so much happening, I just-"

"Well spit it out Stilinski, while we're still young."

"Do you remember when I was about to go into Eichen?"

I wrinkled my nose, "Vividly."

"Right, so then you also remember how I told you when all of what happened was said and done, we were going to talk?" His hands kept winding up and intertwining with each other.

Realizing where this is going, I felt blood rush to my cheeks. "Y-yeah. Yeah I remember that."

Stiles smiled unsure, "Great, so I was just wondering if - if we could talk."

My eyebrows went up, "Talk. Talk now?"

He nodded, "Yeah, talk now."

"Oh, sure! Sure, I mean - I mean yes. Yeah," I opened the door wider, "Come on in." Stiles walked inside, and I shut the door behind me. As I lead him into the kitchen, my heart started pounding in my chest, and I couldn't seem to stop smiling.

"Where's Ginny?" Stiles asked, seating himself on a countertop while I reached for a glass in a cupboard.

"She's just picking up a few things for dinner," I said, filling the glass with ice and water. I took a long gulp of water before turning my complete attention to the boy with captivating brown eyes.

"So..." I began slowly.

Stiles rubbed his hands together, "So June, I-" He was cut off by a sharp knock at the door.

"You're a popular girl today," Stiles joked, looking just slightly disappointed.

I snorted, "If by popular, you mean popular with Troop 565 and their delicious cookies, then yes, I'm very popular."

Stiles hopped off the counter, "You bought girl scout cookies? I'm so getting in on that action."

"In your dreams, Stilinski," I laughed as I walked down the hall to open the front door. I wasn't unaware of Stiles following close behind. Before I got to the door, the knocking ensued, only this time, louder and more quickly.

"I'm coming! I'm coming, I-" When I opened the door, shock locked up my limbs. I couldn't move as I stared at who was on the other side.

"Moony, darling, so wonderful to see you!"

My breathing hitched, and I started panting. Panic and shock took over my body, and I started growing dizzy. Stiles grabbed onto my hand.

"June, what's going on? Who are they?"

"Really June, that's no way to greet your parents. Aren't you going to invite us in?"

 **If you'd like to continue reading June's adventures in Beacon Hills, the next book is titled _Season of the Witch._**


End file.
